Żygulski, Zdzisław: Ottoman art in the service of the empire (New York, NY [u.a.], 1992)

CHAPTER g

Sultans'

Dress and Arms

SOME REMARKS ON THE SULTAN'S COURT
As in well-established Oriental tradition—like the Chinese, the Per-
sian, the late Roman, and the Byzantine—the Ottoman court, or the
Sultan's saray, was the focus of power and authority and shone with
splendor. Not only was the court the sole center of political decisions,
it was also the source of grace on which the life of every citizen was
based, an object of pride and fear, a matchless model of perfection,
a place that was almost a paradise. It was the product of long years
of preparation and consolidation, of its architecture and movables,
of dress and accessories, and of all the trappings indispensable to
daily life, to parades, festivities, religious ritual, and diplomatic cere-
mony.
The court was also a major setting for the production of costumes,
arms, armor, jewels, ornaments, equipment for riding and hunting,
and implements for entertainment and learning, particularly books
and miniatures. The makers of these things, the court artists and
artisans, were Turks as well as Greeks, Persians, Armenians, Hun-
garians, and Italians—an international assemblage of people in-

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