Lot 18
A LARGE OTTOMAN VOIDED SILK VELVET AND METAL-THREAD PANEL (ÇATMA)
TURKEY, BURSA OR ISTANBUL, LATE 16TH/ EARLY 17TH CENTURY
£16,380
Auction: 11 December 2024 from 10:00 GMT
Description
of rectangular form, the voided crimson silk velvet ground decorated with four rows of fan-shaped carnations, each with seven serrated petals supported by palm trees, mounted, in perspex box frame
Dimensions
164cm x 73cm
Footnote
The Ottoman Empire reached its apogee in the 16th century and the Ottomans used luxurious silk textiles for furnishings and for men’s and women’s clothing. The most prestigious were velvet and complex silk weaves called kemha and seraser. These often incorporated thread wrapped with silver or silver gilt.
The main centre for silk-weaving was Bursa in north-west Anatolia in Turkey. The industry was established there in the 15th century, largely to compete with Italian imports. The two most popular designs were the curved lattice, and rows of stylised flowers or stars. Originally introduced to Turkey from Italy, they gradually evolved into the dramatic, large-scale patterns associated with the Ottoman court. In this velvet the basic design, with large motifs in staggered rows, is derived from Italian models, but the stylised carnations are unmistakably Ottoman.
The fan-like carnations and tulips became very popular and sought-after motifs, not only by the Ottoman Imperial Court, but also from as far as the Imperial court of Russia (see Exhibition Catalogue, The Tsars and the East: Gifts from Turkey and Iran in the Moscow Kremlin), and Italy where the velvets were used for ecclesiastical vestments, a proof of their cross-cultural versatility.
For related examples see, Louise W. Mackie, The Splendor of Turkish Weaving, Washington, D.C.: The Textile Museum, 1973, no. 15; Christian Erber, A Wealth of Silk and Velvet, Bremen, 1993, pls. G10/1 and G10/2; Friedrich Spuhler, Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, London 1978, no. 128.
