Page 114 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

The Sultan's Treasury

he most splendid and the least studied Ottoman works of ver and gold items, some of which were stated as having
Tart are those made for the Hazine, the treasury of the sul- come from Europe. Subsequent inventories show vast num-
tans. The collection in the Topkapi Palace includes ceremo- bers of precious objects of which only a small percentage ap-
nial and personal items produced by court artists as well as pears to have survived. 1
luxurious and exotic pieces, sharing in the concept of Schatz- The Hazine of the Topkapi Palace today contains more than
kammer and Kunstkammer (treasure and art cabinets) observed six hundred objects, most of which are displayed in the pavil-
in many great Asian and European empires, combining the ion built by Mehmed II in the third courtyard of the complex.
accumulation of treasures with patronage of the arts. The sul- It incorporates items from the sultans' original collection as
tans' passion for objects made of precious materials was per- well as objects from other sections of the palace. The original
haps second only to their enthusiasm for illustrated manu- collection was housed in the building known as the lc Hazine
scripts. The desire to be surrounded by rare and valuable (Inner Treasury, thus distinguishing it from the state treas-
items and the personal pleasure in using luxurious pieces ury), situated next to the grand vezir's chamber in the second
have been the prerogatives of kings throughout history. courtyard of the palace. Other valuable objects were kept in
The Ottoman treasury was established by Mehmed II, who different parts of the palace: the sultans' riding equipment
transformed the state into a formidable empire and founded was in the Raht Hazinesi (Treasury of the Stables), a structure
the imperial institutions that reflected its majesty. Through his to the left of the second courtyard; his arms and armor be-
campaigns he not only acquired what was left of the royal longed to the Cebehane (Arsenal), the church of Aya Irene
collections of the Byzantines and Akkoyunlus, but also (Hagia Eirene) which was converted into an armory in the
claimed the silver and gold mines in the Balkans, adding first courtyard when the palace was built; and the most val-
them to the rich copper supplies of Anatolia. The state now ued items were reserved for the Has Oda in the third court-
possessed a treasury with a group of rare and precious objects yard, later called the Hirka-i Saadet Odasi (Chamber of the
and had its own rich mines that not only increased the na- Holy Mantle), since it housed the sacred mantle of the
tional wealth, but supplied the raw materials for the produc- Prophet Muhammed together with his other relics, swords of
tion of new pieces. the orthodox caliphs, and donations to the Kaaba, such as
The Hazine was enriched by Bayezid II, known for his fas- locks and keys. Most of the holy swords and the sacred items
cination with silver objects, and by Selim I, who added Sa- were decorated and protected in jewel-encrusted gold cases in
favid and Mamluk treasuries after the conquest of Tabriz and the sixteenth century. The lc Hazine and the Has Oda also
the annexation of Syria and Egypt. Selim I also founded an contained manuscripts, which were later transferred to the
assay office, which controlled the weight of the precious met- library when the palace became a museum. 2
als used in the objects and stamped them with the sultan's Although the inventories of the Hazine are fairly extensive,
seal. Each sultan inspected the treasury immediately upon his only a very few items mentioned in the documents can be
accession to the throne and locked the chamber with his seal. properly identified with existing pieces. Descriptions in the
The Hazine was the personal property of the sultans, and one ledgers are either too general and could apply to more than
of the four highest Enderun offices was responsible for main- one piece, or they pertain to items that appear to have been
taining its security and preparing its inventories. The earliest replaced, recycled, or lost. The contents of the treasury fluc-
record of the treasury, dated 1505, lists large quantities of sil- tuated through the centuries: pieces were added to or re-
moved from the collection. The sultans acquired new objects
Detail, 84 by various means. Many were commissioned from artists

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