Page 162 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

along with other Ottoman weapons and hunting equipment, The reciprocal design used on the outer zone of the shield
were collected by European royalty. reflects the traditional mode employed by the court artists. It
One of these shields (98) has four red cloud bands forming was first used in manuscript illuminations and then applied
elaborate volutes, alternating with turquoise oblongs bearing to other materials, including textiles and ceramics. This par-
inscriptions, placed on a golden-beige field. The cloud bands ticular theme originated in Herat during the late fifteenth
are superimposed with white, yellow, and silver blossoms, century and was adapted by both Ottoman and Safavid artists.
leaves, and triple balls; the oblongs contain a Persian poem A second feature that characterizes Ottoman decorative
written in silver talik with white flowers and leaves filling the arts, the saz style, was employed on another shield (100) that
interstices. Bands composed of red, white, and silver elements also has a ruby-red ground. It is decorated with a bold scroll,
encircle the outer and inner edges. Silver used in the design its curving branches bearing four large hatayi blossoms sur-
has oxidized and appears black. rounded by peonies, buds, and feathery leaves executed in
The central boss is sheathed in gold, covered with floral cream, pistachio-green, blue, brown, and silver, now oxi-
scrolls with ring matting applied to the background, and en- dized. Gilded floral studs join the outer and inner parts.
crusted with rubies and turquoises, following the color The blackened steel boss has a swirling design with raised
scheme of the wicker portion. At the apex is a rounded ele- ribs. Placed around the edge is a gold nesih inscription con-
ment, now crushed, incised with a hatayi braid and set with taining the famous Throne Verse from the Koran. Traces of
a large ruby; it is enclosed by a radiating blossom with eight gold inlay on the boss itself indicate that this portion was
petals that terminate in lobed ovals. The blossom and ovals decorated in the same manner as the previous example and
are decorated with two superimposed hatayi scrolls and a se- must have been affixed with a knob, which is also lost.
ries of natural rubies and turquoises set into high circular col- The third Ottoman decorative feature, sprays of naturalistic
lars. The zones between the ovals show the same scrolls but flowers growing amid leaves from a single source, is found
have in each a pair of deer or fox. on yet another ruby-red shield (101). Ten bunches springing
A thin band showing the same scrolls, alternately encrusted from the outer edge alternately bear five carnations with a
with rubies and turquoises, frames the boss. The wicker por- pair of tulips or three tulips with a pair of buds, their
tion is attached to the core with several tiny nails. The under- branches and blossoms overlapping one another. The
side of the shield is padded and lined with dark red velvet. branches and leaves are embroidered in pistachio-green,
The verses, which exalt the virtues of the shield, and the while the flowers are rendered in cream, pale blue, and silver
representation of animals amid foliage are unusual. These outlined in black. The silver, which is oxidized, appears to
were features of contemporary Safavid shields, which sug- have been wrapped around a yellow silk core to produce a
gests that it was made by one of the Tabrizi artists in the golden tone. Zigzag bands encircle the outer and inner edges
court or inspired by Iranian models. Radiating blossoms en- of the wicker portion, once again affixed to the back with flo-
closed by ovals and encrusted with rubies and turquoises re- ral studs. The blackened steel boss has a central, ten-pointed
call the design of the gold-inlaid steel mirror (see 72), which star rendered in relief. It was originally embellished with gold
is also datable to the second quarter of the sixteenth century. scrolls, of which only a trace remains.
An equally sumptuous shield (99) has a wide ruby-red The theme of symmetrically composed flowers springing
outer zone decorated with ten large units composed of a pair from a central source was extremely popular, and was em-
of rumis flanking a central hatayi. Placed reciprocally with ployed in diverse arts. Fan-shaped carnations with serrate-
tips overlapping, the rumis are filled with branches bearing edged petals and elongated three-pronged tulips with curved
hatayi blossoms, buds, and leaves rendered in black, beige, tapering tips were particularly favored throughout the second
pistachio-green, ruby red, and gold on alternating black and half of the sixteenth century.
white grounds. The narrower pistachio-green inner zone is A slightly later shield (102) is decorated with three large
inscribed with Koranic verses written in black sülüs, inter- hatayi blossoms alternating with cloud bands and triple balls,
rupted by roundels with the word Allah rendered in reserve rendered in pistachio-green, cream, and silver outlined with
on a black ground. Thin braids frame the outer and inner black. Its blackened steel boss has a raised knob in the center,
zones. The wicker portion is attached to the back by eight encircled with a gold-inlaid band alternately filled with hatayi
gold or gilded studs shaped as multipetaled blossoms.
The blackened-steel central boss contains a swirling design overleaf
with raised ribs radiating from a knob, once set with a large 98. Embroidered wicker shield with jeweled gold boss, second quarter
gem. Two gold floral scrolls, one bearing rounded blossoms sixteenth century (istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, 1/2466)
and the other elongated rumis, are inlaid in alternating units. 99 to 101. Embroidered wicker shields with gold-inlaid bosses, mid-
Placed around the edge of the boss is a pierced frame deco- sixteenth century (istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, 1/1930, 1/2441, and I/
rated with gold floral elements, echoing the design of the 2571) Embroidered wicker shield with gold-inlaid boss, second half sixteenth
102.
wicker portion. century (istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, 1/2597)

161