Moroccan kaftan

OTTOMAN SULTANS KAFTANS

The kaftans worn by the Ottoman sultans constitute one of the most splendid collections of Topkapi Palace. Some of them were so precious that they were given as rewards to important dignitaries and victorious generals during elaborate religious festivals.

Kaftan were often embroidered on the front and on the sleeves, but like everything else under the Ottomans, there was a strict hierarchical order in the colours, patterns, ribbons and buttons which were chosen according to the rank of the person to which they were presented.

While in the 14th century large patters and subdued colours were used, these became both smaller and brighter in the next century. By the second half of the 17th century the most precious fabrics were those with 'yollu'- vertical stripes with various embroideries and small patterns, the so-called "Selimiye" fabrics.

Most fabrics were manufactured in Istanbul and Bursa, but some came from as far as Venice, Genoa, Persia, India and even China. Each had very specific characteristics and was named accordingly: there was velvet, aba, bürümcük, canfes, gatma, gezi, diba, hatayi, kutnu, kemha, seraser, serenk, zerbaft, tafta, and many others; the most often used colours were 'China blue', 'Turkish red', violet, "pişmis aya" or cooked quince, and saffron yellow.

Galeri Suav is hosting an exhibition of paintings by ISMAIL ACAR dedicated to these splendid kaftans.