Ottoman Silk Velvet Kaftan Fragment

A fragment of çatma silk velvet patterned with bold ogival lattices, each enclosing a stylised carnation and pomegranate sprig - emblems of paradise and abundance. Such textiles were woven in the imperial workshops of Bursa under the patronage of Süleyman the Magnificent, and supplied as kaftans, cushion covers and diplomatic gifts.

The exuberant scale of the repeat is characteristic of the so-called 'Sultan's velvet' produced in the third quarter of the sixteenth century.