Cleveland Museum of Art

Lampas with floral medallions in ogival lattice

Date

1550–75

Medium

Silk and gilt-metal thread; lampas

Culture

Turkey, Istanbul or Bursa

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This signature Turkish brocaded silk has a classic elegance associated with the artistic height of the 1500s. The prominent golden medallions and ogival (curved) lattice contrast with exceptionally delicate Turkish flowers—tulips, roses, carnations, and hyacinths—which all grow on a single vine. The symmetrical design and two complete medallions with lattices across the width are typical Turkish features of fine brocaded silks. Its original function is uncertain. Possibly it was intended for an imperial kaftan, a garment consisting of a long gown with sleeves reaching below the hands, examples of which are preserved in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, the imperial center of the vast and wealthy Ottoman Empire.

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