Silks and Carpets for High Society

Ottoman Silk Fragment
Turkey, 16th Century
Silk and metal thread, lampas weave
Mae Festa Collection

This beautiful and extremely rare fragment of Ottoman silk is a piece of history. Its interest lies in the realistic way that the three rosebuds have been depicted. This is the source motif for a host of adaptations, some so stylized that without the intermediate forms, it would be impossible to know what was intended. Its high artistic quality probably indicates that it dates from the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent himself, who died in 1566.