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DOI Artikel:Majda, Tadeusz: Turkish garments in the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18943#0059
Tadeusz Majda
TURKISH GARMENTS IN THE COLLECTIONS
OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN WARSAW
Six garments dating back to the 1 8th and 1 9th centuries and originating from the
territory of the Ottoman Empire have been preserved in the Textiles Department of the
National Museum in Warsaw. These garments have a significant informative value,
especially when it is born in mind that only a smali number of original examples of
1 8th or early 1 9th century Turkish garments are to be found in just a few of the world's
museums. The most important collections are housed in the Ethnographical Museum
in Ankara, the Museum of Turkish and Islamie Art (Turk ve Islam Eserleri Muzesi)
together with the Sadberk Han im Museum in I stan bul, The Royal Scottish Museum in
Edinburgh and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Individual exhibits of Turkish
dress consisting in the main of kaftans or single articles of clothing, such as shahars,
shirts, belts or headgear are to be found in other museums. The garments presented
below were worn by members of the upper classes of Ottoman society: the nobility,
officials, as well as merchants and affluent bourgeoisie. While not belonging to the
classical costumes of the Ottoman court, some of these garments were nevertheless
worn at the sultan's court, including for example the jackets, known in Turkish as
cepken.
Apart from the original costumes which have come down to modern times,
information on traditional Turkish clothing may be drawn from iconographic sources,
particularly from albums of miniatures and drawings of costumes madę by Turks or
Levantines\ paintings, drawings and prints madę by European artists, as well as from
travellers' reports which frequently contain detailed descriptions of Turkish clothes.1 2
Richly illustrated materiał about Turkish garments worn in the towns and countryside
is provided by a special publication prepared for the Vienna General Exhibition.3
1. One such album is to be found in the Department of Prints at the University Library in Warsaw, published by
T. Majda and A. Mrozowska, Tureckie stroje i sceny rodzajowe z kolekcji króla Stanisława Augusta (Turkish
costumes and genre scenes from the collection of King Stanislaus Augustus). Catalogue of Drawings,
Warszawa, 1991.
2. A particu larly rich source of information concerning everyday life, customs and clothing in the Ottoman
Empire is contained in the following publications: Julia Pardoe, The City of the Sułtan and Domestic
Manners of the Turks in 1836, vols 1-2, London, 1 837; Charles White, Three Years in Constantinopie, or
domestic manners of the Turks, vols 1-3, London, 1844; Lucy Garnett, The Women of Turkey and Their
Fokiore, vols 1-2, London, 1890-91.
3. Osman Hamdy Bey et Marie de Launay, Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, ouvrage publiee
sous le patronat de la Commission Imperiale Ottomane pour l'Exposition Universelle de Vienne,
Constantinopie, 1873.
53
TURKISH GARMENTS IN THE COLLECTIONS
OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN WARSAW
Six garments dating back to the 1 8th and 1 9th centuries and originating from the
territory of the Ottoman Empire have been preserved in the Textiles Department of the
National Museum in Warsaw. These garments have a significant informative value,
especially when it is born in mind that only a smali number of original examples of
1 8th or early 1 9th century Turkish garments are to be found in just a few of the world's
museums. The most important collections are housed in the Ethnographical Museum
in Ankara, the Museum of Turkish and Islamie Art (Turk ve Islam Eserleri Muzesi)
together with the Sadberk Han im Museum in I stan bul, The Royal Scottish Museum in
Edinburgh and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Individual exhibits of Turkish
dress consisting in the main of kaftans or single articles of clothing, such as shahars,
shirts, belts or headgear are to be found in other museums. The garments presented
below were worn by members of the upper classes of Ottoman society: the nobility,
officials, as well as merchants and affluent bourgeoisie. While not belonging to the
classical costumes of the Ottoman court, some of these garments were nevertheless
worn at the sultan's court, including for example the jackets, known in Turkish as
cepken.
Apart from the original costumes which have come down to modern times,
information on traditional Turkish clothing may be drawn from iconographic sources,
particularly from albums of miniatures and drawings of costumes madę by Turks or
Levantines\ paintings, drawings and prints madę by European artists, as well as from
travellers' reports which frequently contain detailed descriptions of Turkish clothes.1 2
Richly illustrated materiał about Turkish garments worn in the towns and countryside
is provided by a special publication prepared for the Vienna General Exhibition.3
1. One such album is to be found in the Department of Prints at the University Library in Warsaw, published by
T. Majda and A. Mrozowska, Tureckie stroje i sceny rodzajowe z kolekcji króla Stanisława Augusta (Turkish
costumes and genre scenes from the collection of King Stanislaus Augustus). Catalogue of Drawings,
Warszawa, 1991.
2. A particu larly rich source of information concerning everyday life, customs and clothing in the Ottoman
Empire is contained in the following publications: Julia Pardoe, The City of the Sułtan and Domestic
Manners of the Turks in 1836, vols 1-2, London, 1 837; Charles White, Three Years in Constantinopie, or
domestic manners of the Turks, vols 1-3, London, 1844; Lucy Garnett, The Women of Turkey and Their
Fokiore, vols 1-2, London, 1890-91.
3. Osman Hamdy Bey et Marie de Launay, Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, ouvrage publiee
sous le patronat de la Commission Imperiale Ottomane pour l'Exposition Universelle de Vienne,
Constantinopie, 1873.
53