Brocaded Velvet Panel with Italianate Pattern

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.