Cushion Cover

Object Details

• Description

  This velvet cover is decorated with a repeated symmetrical design of large leaves from a plane tree. The units enclose a spray of tulips and carnations that fan out around a bouquet of hyacinth. Three additional tulip blossoms form clusters that fill the spaces between the pattern's primary forms.

• 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.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art (February 24 to May 13, 2007)

  Islamic Art (May 9, 1993 to June 3, 1997)

  Turkish Art (November 1, 1980 to May 25, 1982)

• Origin

  Turkey

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Costume and Textile

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1730s, 1560s

• Topic

  Art, Tulip, Ottoman period (1307 - 1922), Arts of the Islamic World, Carnation, Flowers, Floral patterns

• Culture

  Muslims, Turks

• Object Type

  Costume, Textiles