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Brocaded Velvet Panel with Italianate Pattern

1575–1625
Silk: velvet, brocaded; gilt-metal thread and cotton
Overall: 173 x 241.5 cm (68 1/8 x 95 1/16 in.); Mounted: 175.3 x 245.7 x 8.9 cm (69 x 96 3/4 x 3 1/2 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 2003.3
Location: 116 Islamic
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Description

Rarely are four fabric widths preserved together from any culture. This gilt-metal thread pattern combines Turkish and Italian features: the large ogival (curved) lattice clasped by crowns and the velvet structure are Turkish, and the two so-called artichoke designs are enlarged adaptations of Italian motifs. A symbol of wealth and power, this velvet panel was woven during the artistic height of the Ottoman Empire in the late 1500s. It may have covered a divan (sofa) or possibly enhanced a wall during cold winters in the imperial Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
Brocaded Velvet Panel with Italianate Pattern

Brocaded Velvet Panel with Italianate Pattern

1575–1625

Turkey, Istanbul or Bursa

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