Turkey, Ottoman dynasty,
first half of 17th century
Brocaded silk velvet, gilt metal and silk thread
Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, VT1034
The two copes and the dalmatic are made from high-quality Ottoman velvets decorated with the ubiquitous carnation blossoms and equally popular palm tree and serrated palmette motifs. The addition of pearls as well as gilt metal and silver embroideries further accentuates the sumptuousness of the fabric. Interestingly, all extant Ottoman silks in Roman Catholic monasteries and churches in Russia, Poland, and the Balkans are of Ottoman technique and style. Figurative brocaded silks, such as the stole and the dalmatic, were commissioned purposely for the Russian Orthodox Church.
