Cushion Cover

Historical period(s)
Ottoman period, late 16th-early 17th century
Medium
Velvet, silk and metallic thread
Dimensions
H x W: 87.5 x 63.5 cm (34 7/16 x 25 in)
Geography
Turkey
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1980.201
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Costume and Textile, Furniture and Furnishing
Type

Cushion cover

Keywords
carnation, flower, Ottoman period (1307 - 1922), tulip, Turkey
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

Stylized floral designs played a central role in the luxury arts of sixteenth and seventeenth-century Ottoman Turkey. Artists often relied on the same repertoire of motifs, but changed the scale and relationship of individual elements to create an endless variety of decorative possibilities. This plush velvet cover is embellished with rows of large, staggered palmettes, which in turn contain delicate stems of alternating tulips and carnations. A similar arrangement of tulips and carnations also appears as the centerpiece of the ceramic plate in the adjacent case. Such textiles were primarily intended for use in interior spaces and served as reminders of the pleasures of the outdoor life.

Published References
  • The 39th Annual Washington Antiques Show. .
  • Mr. Yanni Petsopoulos. Tulips, Arabesques, and Turbans: Decorative Arts from the Ottoman Empire. New York and London. pp. 135, 140, pl. 132.
  • Edwards Park. Treasures from the Smithsonian Institution., 1st ed. Washington and New York. pp. 352-353.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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