Page 206 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

The border, framed by thin bands of trefoils, contains a se- are arranged in alternating rows, creating an overall pattern.
ries of crescents enclosing either tulips or carnations, flanked The wide border displays a more complicated design. It is
by pairs of small tulips, flowering branches, hatayi blossoms, divided into lozenges separated by diagonal lines; the diago-
various other flowers, and leaves. The crescents provide a nals in the centers of the four sides converge to create trian-
restful frame to the overwhelming rhythm created in the cen- gles. The upper border has been incorrectly worked; one of
tral field. The complexity of the pattern, the masterful rendi- the diagonals is missing, so there is a large off-center trape-
tion of the design, and the extensive range of colors suggest zoid instead of a triangle. Each of these units contains a vari-
that the piece was produced for the palace. ation of the bunches used in the field. Framing the border on
A second quilt cover (137) is embroidered with the more both sides are narrower bands decorated with scrolls bearing
popular colors: bright blue, pistachio-green, and rose red. Its the same flora. Similar to all the other quilt covers, the design
field consists of a repeat pattern with alternating large and of the field is directional, with the flowers growing from a
small bunches of symmetrically composed flowers growing clearly defined base. Those in the border alternate, facing all
from stylized vases. The larger bunches contain three tulips four corners.
with a pair of carnations and rosebuds; the smaller ones The quilt covers described above represent highly refined
show one carnation flanked by two pairs of blossoms. They workmanship. The laborious effort involved in producing

137. Embroidered quilt cover (detail),
second half sixteenth century
(istanbul, Topkapi Sarayi Miizcsi,
31/4)

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