Ceremonial tent

This octagonal tent with pointed roof is supported by a timber structure. Its textile covering comprises silk panels strengthened by canvas and an inner lining. The red background is decorated by designs in rich green, bright red and gold, highlighted with gold silk trimmings. The ten wall panels are each decorated with a lobed niche in which a mosque lamp is suspended, while two delicate vegetal stems of tulips and carnations spring from the base.  Small sprays and tendrils decorate the cornerpieces of the niche. The panels are encircled at the top and bottom with a decorative border composed of a central band of golden flowers framed by two patterned bands containing a green honeycomb motif, in which a flower is set in each cell. On the roof panels, lobed arches alternate with compositions of geometric designs decorated with flowers.

The tent was part of the spoils of war seized by the army of the Holy League (Austria, Germany and Poland) in 1683 at the defeat of Ottoman troops led by Qara Mustafa, the vizier of Mehmet IV, who had been holding Vienna in a state of siege. The Turks were obliged to abandon their encampments and the tents[1] with their contents (including shields, swords, bows, quivers and many weapons) were seized by the victors. The tents and banners were adopted in noble and royal residences, for use in banquets and receptions. The good state of preservation of these objects demonstrate the regard in which they were held in Europe, in particular, in Poland, where despite the turbulent history of the country, several complete tents have been kept in perfect condition, due in part to restorations effected in the eighteenth century.

The form of such tents was varied: they might be polygonal, oval, square or rectangular, and equally the roofs might be conical, flat, canopied and so on.

The use of tents, which was widespread among the nomadic Turkish people of Central Asia from whom the Ottomans were descended as well as in Iran and India, survived after they ceased to be a nomadic people. Timurid Turkish miniatures, (Transoxiana and Iran, 1370-1506), represent Tamburlaine holding an audience in a tent on occasion of his accession[2]. Ottoman tents were used at court (they were erected for certain celebrations and receptions in the gardens of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul[3]) and, as here, during military campaigns. Miniature paintings from the sixteenth century reflect the intense land and maritime activity[4] of the Ottoman army. The histories of the reigns of the sultans are illustrated by these visual accounts of sieges and battle scenes detailing splendid encampments of tents of varied colours and decoration[5], together with furniture adapted to the peripatetic nature of the encampments, such as a campaign throne, the original of which is in the treasury of the Topkapi Palace[6].

The decoration of the tent is inspired by the ‘flowers’ style created in the painting workshops of the Palace under the direction of Qara Memi  in the 1540s and which influenced the arts of the book[7], Iznik ceramics, textiles and particularly Ushaq carpets[8]. The niche is decorated with a lamp, a very common motif in Islamic art[9], which alludes to the verse of Light and takes a possibly protective significance when associated with furniture intended for military use.

[2] Audience of Timur in Balkh on the occasion of his accession in April 1370, Zafarnamhe by Sharafuddin Ali Yazdî, Herat, Afghanistan, 1467-1468, f. 82b-83a..

[3] Dancers and actors before the sultan, Surnamme-i-Vehbi of Ahmed III, 1703-1730, Istanbul, Topkapi Palace Library, inv. A 3593.

[4] View of the Port of Nice, Süleymanname, Matrakci Nasuh, Turkey, circa 1545, Istanbul, Topkapi Palace Library, inv. H. 1608, f. 27b.

[5] The siege of Belgrade, Suleymanname by Arifi, Istanbul, 1558, Istanbul, Topkapi Palace Library, MS. H.1517, f. 108b.

[6] Campaign throne, Turkey, second half C17th, walnut with ebony veneer, inlaid with ivory, wood, mother-of-pearl, metal and turquoise, painted on seat, Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayi Müzesi, inv. 2/2879.

[7] Koran, calligraphy of Ahmed Karahishari, Turkey, 1546-1547, Istanbul, Topkapi Palace Library, inv. Y.Y. 999, f.1b-2a.

[8] Carpet with prayer niche, Ushaq, Turkey, second half of C16th, wool, Istanbul, Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi, inv.774.

[9] decorative panel in form of mihrab, Kashan, Iran, C13th, ceramic with applied relief, lustre on opaque glaze with coloured accents, Paris, musée du Louvre, inv. 7643.