DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29463#0195
from Sultan Suleyman to King Francis I of France, which was cap-
tured by Emperor Charles V at the Battle of Pavia (1525) and then
taken to the Spanish residence. It is one of the oldest tents extant
and is made in the same applique fashion as the other tents from the
second half of the seventeenth century.
A similar tent is now preserved in the Army Museum in Stock-
holm. It was in the possession of the Polish king and elector of
Saxony, Augustus the Strong, but was taken as a trophy by Charles
XII of Sweden during the Northern War, at the Battle of Klishov in
1704-
A small applique tent, displayed inside out, is shown in the per-
manent exhibition at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest,
and a very precious one of brocaded fabric from the Art History
Museum in Vienna (Wagenburg) was exhibited at the Turks in Vi-
enna exhibition in ig8g.^
The polygonal tent from the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingol-
stadt, now on permanent exhibition, is made of red felt with appli-
que work of silk and linen in patterns of flowers and leaves. It was
captured at the Battle of Mohacs in 1687 by Elector Maximillian II
Emanuel of Bavaria as booty from the grand vizier Suleyman. Five
more tents are kept in Munich, but of these only a round tent, very
damaged, has survived in the Museum of Ethnology in Munich.*"
Several separate pieces of Ottoman tents are dispersed in various
collections in and outside Europe.*' It is clear that all future research
will have to begin with the making of a full inventory, perhaps by
computer, of all preserved tents and tent fragments. This will permit
analysis and interpretation to go forward in this fascinating held of
Ottoman creativity and culture.
HIERARCHY OF OTTOMAN TENTS
As in the system of hags and dress, the qualities and types of tents
depended on the function and rank of those whom they served. The
hierarchical system was displayed in visual fashion in the Ottoman
Empire, and the arts were exploited mainly for its realization.
At the top of the hierarchy was the sultan's royal tent (or tents),
the Otag-i Humayun, which was elaborate, ornate, and luxurious.
The tent exhibited in 1983 in the Askeri Museum, associated with
Sultan Mahmud II, belongs to this class, although it is a rather late
171
tured by Emperor Charles V at the Battle of Pavia (1525) and then
taken to the Spanish residence. It is one of the oldest tents extant
and is made in the same applique fashion as the other tents from the
second half of the seventeenth century.
A similar tent is now preserved in the Army Museum in Stock-
holm. It was in the possession of the Polish king and elector of
Saxony, Augustus the Strong, but was taken as a trophy by Charles
XII of Sweden during the Northern War, at the Battle of Klishov in
1704-
A small applique tent, displayed inside out, is shown in the per-
manent exhibition at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest,
and a very precious one of brocaded fabric from the Art History
Museum in Vienna (Wagenburg) was exhibited at the Turks in Vi-
enna exhibition in ig8g.^
The polygonal tent from the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingol-
stadt, now on permanent exhibition, is made of red felt with appli-
que work of silk and linen in patterns of flowers and leaves. It was
captured at the Battle of Mohacs in 1687 by Elector Maximillian II
Emanuel of Bavaria as booty from the grand vizier Suleyman. Five
more tents are kept in Munich, but of these only a round tent, very
damaged, has survived in the Museum of Ethnology in Munich.*"
Several separate pieces of Ottoman tents are dispersed in various
collections in and outside Europe.*' It is clear that all future research
will have to begin with the making of a full inventory, perhaps by
computer, of all preserved tents and tent fragments. This will permit
analysis and interpretation to go forward in this fascinating held of
Ottoman creativity and culture.
HIERARCHY OF OTTOMAN TENTS
As in the system of hags and dress, the qualities and types of tents
depended on the function and rank of those whom they served. The
hierarchical system was displayed in visual fashion in the Ottoman
Empire, and the arts were exploited mainly for its realization.
At the top of the hierarchy was the sultan's royal tent (or tents),
the Otag-i Humayun, which was elaborate, ornate, and luxurious.
The tent exhibited in 1983 in the Askeri Museum, associated with
Sultan Mahmud II, belongs to this class, although it is a rather late
171