Page 187 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

The design of the fabric, woven of dusty-rose silk and gold,
is almost a copy of the tinted drawings, illuminations, and
bookbindings, especially the lacquered covers of the 15307
1531 Hamse-i Nevai (see 33b). The scrolls bear composite
hatayi blossoms and feathery leaves overlaid by additional
flowers; the elements intersect and pass over and under one
another, revealing technical virtuosity on the part of the
weaver. The subdued color scheme underplays the complex-
ity and refinement of the design, which must have pleased
Suleyman, who appears to have preferred garments with un-
derstated elegance.
His sons, in contrast, wore brilliantly colored garments, as
exemplified by a pair of spectacular kaftans woven in the
most dazzling rendition of the saz style. One of these is a
cream-ground kemha, cut in the same style as the one with
the reciprocal pattern (see 114), identified recently as having
belonged to §ehzade Mustafa. 49 A second example (116), a
ceremonial kaftan with long sleeves that reach the ground,
employs the same design rendered in blue, blackish brown,
pistachio-green, peach, ruby red, white, and gold on an al-
most black shade known as sürmayi (kohl colored).
The cut of this kaftan is typical of the outer robes worn
during ceremonial activities and presented as hilats to heads
of foreign states, esteemed visitors, and deserving officials.
The plain neck is banded with the same fabric; the pattern is
carefully matched at the front opening; slits at the shoulders
115. Pair of detachable kemha sleeves made for Sultan Suleyman, allow the arms to pass through, while long decorative sleeves
second quarter sixteenth century (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, 13/72) hang at the back; two pockets are cut into the front. It is
lined with yellow silk bordered with red. Since there are no
slits at the hem or fastenings at the front, the robe was to be
worn loosely over the inner kaftan.
ployed on manuscript illuminations produced between the The label of the kaftan reads "Sultan Bayezid," who must
1520s and 1540s (see 8, 9a, 28a, 30, and 31), which must be §ehzade Bayezid, not Bayezid II, since its design is charac-
have served as models to the textile designers. The same teristic of the mid-sixteenth century. The hatayi blossoms and
theme appears on tiles dating from the second half of the six- leaves are so intricate and refined that they appear to have
teenth century. Although this kaftan is identified as having been painted on silk. In fact, the motifs are identical to those
belonged to Selim I, its stylistic features suggest the second found on the flyleaves of an album produced around 1560
quarter of the sixteenth century. for the sultan (see 49a-49f).
The design of this kaftan reveals one characteristic of Otto- The saz scrolls on light-ground and dark-ground kaftans
man textiles, the insistence on a proper orientation. The tre- use different colors and configurations without repeating the
foils and their contents are directional, with clearly defined patterns. Each fabric was conceived as an individual piece,
tops and bottoms. This feature, which is more noticeable in employing the same theme but varying the composition.
textiles using naturalistic flowers, was also applied to ce- Words fail to define the richness and complexity of the design
ramics and tiles. and individual elements. These kaftans represent the highest
In addition to overall çintemani patterns and designs de- technical and aesthetic achievements of textile designers and
rived from the traditional manuscript illuminations, kaftans weavers, who have created unequaled works of art.
and accessories produced during Süleyman's reign were also A second feature that characterized the decorative vocabu-
decorated with the saz style, which developed in the nakka§- lary of the age of Suleyman was sprays of naturalistic flowers,
hane during the 1530s. A pair of detachable sleeves (115) which became incorporated into the weavers' repertoire in
identified as Süleyman's shows the earliest and most delicate the middle of the sixteenth century. One of the earliest kaf-
rendition of this theme. The sleeves have buttons and loops
at the cuffs for fastening around the wrists and are supplied 116 . Kemha ceremonial kaftan with saz pattern made for §ehzade
with loops that attach them to the shoulders of the kaftan. Bayezid, mid-sixteenth century (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, 13/37)

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