Page 182 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

íes, the chronological development of Ottoman fabrics is yet and even to Tabriz, is erroneous, and will not be dwelt upon
to be properly determined. The wording in the documents in detail except to note a few significant points. The majority
defining patterns, colors, and techniques is confusing at best, of the so-called Mamluk rugs attributed to Cairo date from
and does not help in identifying or dating the existing pieces. the early years of the Ottoman suzerainty over Egypt and
Travelers' reports, including those of Baron Busbecq, are also Syria and was therefore produced under Ottoman rule, em-
vague when it comes to specific details; foreign envoys were ploying designs formulated in the court. The supporters of the
generally overwhelmed by the luxurious and colorful display "Cairene" theory for all court-style rugs frequently point to
of costumes. Busbecq's words "bright raiment of every kind the much-quoted 1585 edict of Murad III in which he or-
and hue, and everywhere the brilliance of gold, silver, purple, dered from Cairo eleven rug weavers together with a large
.
and satin . . . No mere words could give an adequate idea of supply of dyed wool. 32 This date, however, is several genera-
.
the novelty of the sight . . . A more beautiful spectacle was tions later than the purported impact of Cairo on Ottoman
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never presented to my gaze. . . " do not describe the court rugs. The imperial workshop in the 1580s must have
patterns. been overloaded with requests—as can be observed in the
The most important source is the palace kaftans, which rugs datable to these years—and Murad III was forced to
were wrapped in muslin sheets, labeled, and preserved augment it with additional weavers.
through the centuries. Since a number of wrappings and Cairo was an active center, but not the sole supplier of
labels were mixed up or lost in time, one has to be cautious high-quality rugs. A reference to "Cairene" is found in the
in using this information. remarkable rug from the Medici collection in the Pitti Palace
Another source is the representations of textiles in Euro- in Florence recently brought to light. The inventory of the
pean prints and paintings. The importance of these works has Palazzo Vecchio in Florence states that Duke Ferdinand II re-
been demonstrated in the study of Ottoman rugs, which have ceived in 1623 from Admiral Verrazano a "beautiful large
been named "Holbein" and "Lotto" after sixteenth-century Cairene," 33 indicating that the rug was made there, its design
European artists who included them in their paintings. Otto- reflecting the impact of court traditions on Egyptian produc-
man figures represented in late-fifteenth- and early-sixteenth- tion. On the other hand the impact of Cairo on Istanbul is
century paintings attributed to Gentile Bellini and Bernardino virtually undocumented. There is not one Egyptian rug
Betti Pinturrichio indicate that ogival patterns were popular. 30 weaver mentioned in the Ehl-i Hiref registers dated between
As for kaftans worn during Suleyman's reign, Melchior Lor- 1526 and 1566. The twenty-five rug makers listed in these
ichs' engraving shows him in a moiré inner robe and a plain registers 34 are recorded as either being of local origin or hav-
ceremonial outer robe (see fig. 7). 31 Nigari also represented ing come from the Balkan provinces (together with one or
Suleyman in an undecorated kaftan (see fig. 10). two Circassians and one "Frenk," oddly named Osman).
Far more distinct designs appear in the illustrations of the These documents prove that the society was established by
1558 Süleymanname (see 41a-41d), which proves that by the Mehmed II and flourished under Bayezid II and Selim I.
mid-sixteenth century ogival and vertical-stem designs were Materials and technical features attributed to Cairo are not
widely used, and the motifs included çintemani patterns, necessarily indicative of provenance, since the Ottoman capi-
rumi scrolls, cloud bands, and hatayi blossoms and leaves. tal attracted artisans from all corners of the empire, who con-
Naturalistic flowers—carnations, tulips, roses, hyacinths, cy- tributed to the production of court arts. Men were easily relo-
presses, and blossoming fruit trees—must have been added to cated, as proven by the heterogeneous nature of the Ehl-i
the repertoire shortly after. Hiref societies, and the transportation of supplies could hardly
The chronological study of Ottoman textiles, therefore, re- have been of consequence to such a powerful and organized
lies heavily on the information provided by the works of the state. One should not rule out the technical contribution of
nakka§hane artists, their paintings and drawings enabling us Egyptian workshops, but their influence on the court ateliers
to determine the terminus a quo for a number of decorative was no greater than that of Anatolian and Balkan traditions.
themes. This methodology is most useful when applied to It can be argued that fifteenth-century rug production of An-
court-sponsored arts, since once a theme was formulated in atolia and the Balkans is not well documented, but neither is
the nakka§hane, it was quickly adapted by the other imperial that of the former Mamluk lands.
societies. Ehl-i Hiref registers also include a group of design- Tabriz as a source is ruled out since not one rug weaver is
ers, the Cemaat-i Naki^bandi, who may have served as inter- known to have come from Iran. The designs of Ottoman rugs
mediaries between the nakka§hane artists and the weavers, that reflect the traditions of Herat and Tabriz originate from
reworking the patterns to render them suitable for textiles. the nakka§hane, and thus may have been influenced by the
The same methodology is valid for the production of court members of the Aceman corps. A thorough evaluation of
rugs, which were woven by the Cemaat-i Kalicebafan-i Hassa early-sixteenth-century examples attributed to Iran and Af-
(Society of Imperial Rugmakers) following nakka§hane de- ghanistan may prove that some were produced in the Otto-
signs. The attribution of all Ottoman court-style rugs to Cairo, man court, based on nakka§hane designs. Bookbindings and

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