An Exceptional Ottoman Voided Velvet and Metal Thread Çatma Panel

woven with offset rows of plane tree leaf palmettes incorporating a spray of alternating tulips, carnations and leaves, each palmette supported on short stem with double leaf motif and each row interspersed with a small artichoke motif, woven in green and crimson, and metal threads, with a crimson velvet ground; the panel comprised of two joined vertical sections, mounted within a later glazed rectangular frame

From a Noble Ottoman Family

Colours in reality are more vibrant and more carmine in tone. Tonally colours are correct. The silk pile, due to the nap, appears to vary in colour, depending on the angle at which it is viewed. This is why there are colour variations in the photograph. Appearance of the panel in reality is crisper and more defined. The colouring is sophisticated and more unusual. The textile is comprised of two joined vertical sections (each approx. 63cm. wide) which are matched with the design and are both a loom width. The join is visible up the centre of the panel on close inspection and in the photograph. Original selvedge is visible on the right hand side. The metal thread has some tarnishing and abrasions, where it is used in the leaf motifs and the central pomegranate motifs. The ivory ground of the large plane tree motifs is in very good overall condition, and was woven without metal threads. The green silk velvet outlines is in very good condition. There is evidence of minutel circular holes and rust, in a vertical line in the top section, to the left and right of the panel, towards the edges. possibly from past mounting or hanging methods. Presently mounted in glazed frame. This is an exceptional panel in technique and quality of materials, sophisticated colouring and the fineness of design and drawing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present example is of unusually fine quality with a particularly rich crimson coloured ground. For an example of a `çatma' fabric of almost identical design, and similar colouring, dated first half 17^th century, from the Victoria and Albert Museum (377-1895), see Gürsu, Nevber, The Art of Turkish Weaving, Designs through the Ages, Istanbul, 1988, pg. 91, & pg. 149, pl.168., which illustrates the same design of rows of palmette motifs of the plane tree leaf, incorporating small motifs of the tulip and carnation within, with each leaf motif interspersed with a double leaf and small artichoke motif. Another comparable example, which in addition to the plane tree leaf pattern has a very similar double leaf motif and small artichoke motif, between all the main leaves as in the presently offered panel, see Victoria and Albert Museum: Brief Guide to Turkish Woven Fabrics, HMSO, London, 1950, no. 18, pg. 22, pl.18. Another very similar two sectioned fragment, dated 16^th/17^th century, Bursa, from the Deutsches Textilmuseum, Krefeld, is illustrated in Erber, Christian, A Wealth of Silk and Velvet, Bremen, 1993, no. G 10/3, pp.182-3.

Luxurious Ottoman fabrics, especially damasks from Bursa, and those from Iran (Isphahan, Tabriz, Kashan and Yazd), woven in the 16^th century and later, were in great demand in various countries including Russia. The Ottoman fabrics of silk velvet with gold threads with the overall design of pointed ovals, carnations or plane tree leaf fan motifs incorporating tulips, carnations, hyacinths or pomegranates, were particularly prized.  The large scale motifs of the 16^th and 17^th century, used in a repeat pattern were ideally viewed on a flat plane, which suited the design of the kaftans and cloaks and ecclesiastical copes and chasubles, and as decorative panels. 

In Russia they are recorded as having been traded and used in Moscow in the 17^th century for luxurious clothes and for ecclesiastical vestments, with which they were combined with Russian fabrics for the lower border hems and for the neckpieces. The designs of the Ottoman and Iranian fabrics influenced those later produced in Russia. In addition Ottoman fabrics were used in domestic life in the seventeenth century on the Romanov Estate in Moscow, and the boyars' mansions, for decoration, clothing, covers, horse furnishings and saddles.

For a comparable velvet there is an interesting and rare example of a finished garment in the form of a cope dating from the first half of the 17^th century from The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, which uses an  Ottoman silk velvet brocade with cerise ground, of very similar design to the presently offered panel, with the same offset rows of plane tree leaf motifs with the carnations and tulips, short supporting stems with double leaf motif, and instead of being interspersed with the artichoke motif on the presently offered panel it incorporates a stem with three tulips.  The cope is combined with Russian produced gilt applique silk velvet of a similar colour for the neckline and border, applied with Russian Orthodox motifs. For further discussion and colour illustration of the comparable velvet garment see Piotrovsky, Mikhail, B. & Pritula, Anton, D., Beyond the Palace Walls, Islamic Art from the State Hermitage Museum, Islamic Art in a World Context, National Museums of Scotland, Exhibition 14^th July - 5^th November 2006, Edinburgh, NMS, 2006, Part IV, Diplomacy, Warfare and Trade - The Muslim World and Russia, Essay by Ukhanova, Irina, N, Trade Connections between the Islamic World and Russia, pp.188-196, Cat. no.181, pg.192, (State Hermitage Museum, inv. no. VT-1034).