Kaftan attributed to Mehmet IV

This ceremonial kaftan is part of the costume collection of the treasury of the Topkapi Palace. The monumental decoration of curving stems ornamented with large pomegranates and flowering, leafy branches is executed in crimson contrasting with a gold background. The warm hues of the velvet contrast with the lining of light green silk.

The kaftan was the principal item of oriental costume and was traditionally worn over voluminous trousers and a long-sleeved tunic or robe. Its length and width vary, as do the sleeves which may be short or long or even detachable. The ample cut shows the dimensions of the motifs to advantage.

This kaftan was produced in silk velvet, an opulent fabric known to be manufactured from the Thirteenth century in Italy, particularly in Venice, Genoa and Luca. The technique of producing this fabric was at first relatively simple and later took on layers of complexity. There are no extant examples of Ottoman silk velvet earlier than the fifteenth century, at which time Bursa was the principal centre of production. It is probable that the technique was brought to Turkey from Italy.  These textiles, both Italian and Ottoman, were principally used for furnishings and court costumes. The technique demonstrated here, called alluciolati, denotes a velvet with loops of gold wire highlighting details of the decoration. Also known in Safavid Iran[1], it exemplifies the high level of technical expertise of the Italian workshops in the fifteenth century.

It may seem surprising to find in the treasury of the Ottoman sultans a kaftan made from Italian fabric but it is by no means the only example. It reflects a real vogue in court costumes of sixteenth century. In fact, of the thirty or so kaftans in silk velvet in the costume collections of the imperial Palace, the majority are made from Italian or French fabric. These textiles arrived in Turkey through commercial transactions or as diplomatic gifts. At the Ottoman court, the prestige of Italian silk appears to have even eclipsed the silks produced at Bursa, which were nevertheless admired throughout the Empire. Certain authors attribute the Sultans’ preference for Italian silk velvet over Turkish as an example of their pretensions, as they preferred to dress in European textiles rather than the Bursa silk which was widely available to prosperous households throughout the Empire.

The motif of vertical, curving stems, common in Chinese silk, appeared in Europe in the fifteenth century[2], at the same time that velvet was supplanting traditional silk fabrics. The two bands of entwined branches are very close to the Ottoman aesthetic. The oriental style predominates here, as it did in many genres of Venetian artistic production, including, bookbinding[3] or glass enamel[4]. This curving composition can also be found in the ceramic tile decoration in the Rüstem Pacha mosque (Istanbul, 1561-1563). The pomegranates, carnations, tulips and saz leaves, belong to the iconographic vocabulary developed in the painting workshops of the Palace which was widely employed in the decorative arts, particularly in ceramics[5] and textiles[6].

Italian silk velvet was also widely exported throughout Europe. A painting by Petrus Christus, Goldsmith in his Workshop[7] (1447) depicts a woman dressed in a silk velvet robe resembling this kaftan. In a French illuminated manuscript by Jean Fouquet[8], a cloth with a pattern of large curving stems is spread over the throne of the Virgin.

[2] Back of chasuble, velvet double-sided, brocade, bouclé, Italy, second half of 15th century, Lyon, Musée historique des Tissus, inv. 30007.

[3] Binding of Works of Virgil, gilded repoussé leather, Venice, Italy, 1460s, London, The British Library, inv. MS. Harley 3963.

[4] Goblet with griffon, Venice, Italy, end C13th - beginning C14th, glass with enamel decoration, Frankfurt-am-Main, Museum für Angewandte Kunst, inv. 6770.

[5] Dish with pomegranates and saz leaves, Iznik, Turkey1535-1540, Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Museum, inv.827.

[6] Textile with mandorlas, Turkey, second half of C16th, silk and gold thread, gold, lampas, on satin background,  Lyon, Musée historique des Tissus, inv. 362/23293.

[7] New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Collection Robert Lehman, inv.1975.1.110.

[8] Étienne Chevalier presented by Saint Stephen to the Virgin nursing the infant Jesus, 1460, Heures d'Etienne Chevalier illuminated by Jean Fouquet, Chantilly, Musée Condé.