Women from the Kings book of Kings and other Mugal and Persian Manuscripts

A New Years Picnic. Persian, Tabriz 1536

Humayan and Humayun entertained in a garden. Bagdad, Persian 1396
Note U-shaped neckline on some of the layers.

Humayan and Humayun entertained in a garden. Bagdad, Persian 1396
Cool headresses


The plates below were commissioned in 1522 and executed shortly after that.


A detail from Ardashir and the Slave Girl Gulnar.
detail of froggings down front of "coat" and hanging sleeve
apparantly vertical slit for arm


A detail from the Assassination of Khosrowparvis.
upper class versus servants attire


A detail from Faridun Strikes Down Kahhak.
nice view of layers and lengths


A detail from Faridun Strikes Down Kahhak.


A detail from Haftvad and the Worm.
women spinning
Is the lining of the lady in yellow's "overcoat" brown fur?


A detail from the Nightmare of Zahhak.
horizontal arm openings on oversleeve with froggings


A detail from the Nightmare of Zahhak.
Note, generally four layers with open fronts showing "chemise" underlayer?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

All pictures are from these sources

A King's Book of Kings
The Shah-nameh of Shah Tahmasp
Stuart Cary Welch
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, 1972 reprint 1976

Sports and Pastimes
Scenes from Turkish, Persian and Mughal Paintings
Norah M. Titley
The British Library
1979 The British Library Board

OTTOMAN COSTUME

an overview of 16th century Turkish dress

by Giles de Laval OL
Email Master Giles
SHIRTS (gomlek)
· Women's shirts were tunic style, knee length or longer, with long straight sleeves or long full sleeves presumably gathered on to the shoulder. They had a round neck with a vertical slit, which reached the bust and was closed by three or four small buttons. Shirts were commonly made of a fine, sheer fabric, such as linen or cotton gauze, and were usually white.
· Men's shirts were similar, and were also knee length. Also probable is an unusual cut (probably of Egyptian origin) using only two curved seams.

TROUSERS (salvar)
. Both men and women wore trousers of similar cut, loose on the leg and tapering to the ankle. Excessively baggy trousers did not come into fashion until the late 17th century.Trousers were made of satin, silk or light cotton.

CAFTANS (kaftan, entari)
. Caftans of various styles were the main item of dress for both men and women.
. Caftans are fairly simple in construction, using mostly straight seams; it was the quality of material that was intended to impress (although the majority of surviving caftans are of a plain material).
. They generally have round necks, sometimes with a small stand-up collar.
. Women's caftans likewise had round necks. Styles that had low round or square necklines or even came under the bust date to the late 18th century. 16th century caftans did not expose the bosom.
. They usually have buttons to the waist, either jewelled or covered in the same fabric as the caftan, fastening though loops rather than buttonholes and often frogging of a similar material or braid across the chest. Frogging seems to be more prevalent on men's caftans than women’s, although the caftans of both genders used it.
. Caftans were usually three quarter to full length but shorter knee length caftans were worn for sport or battle. Women also wore shorter knee or hip length caftans (hirka), either under or over a full-length one.
. Sleeves are short, wrist- or ankle-length. Short sleeves come to the elbow, with a curved cut-out in font where the elbow would bend. Wrist-length sleeves extended just past the fingertips, and were worn bunched up at the wrist fastened tightly with buttons. These could also be detachable. Ankle-length sleeves were purely decorative, hanging empty behind and only worn on the outer garment.
· The sultan and his ministers would frequently wear three caftans: one with wrist-length sleeves under another with short sleeves, under another with decorative ankle-length sleeves, so their contrasting fabrics could all he seen and admired.
. Women tended to wear caftans with wrist length sleeves, with elbow sleeves only on the outer garment. They did not seem to wear ankle-length sleeves at all. Sleeves split all the way to the elbow and worn hanging open did not come into fashion until the late 18th century.
. With the possible exception of the innermost caftan, women's styles did not have the overlapping triangular front gores of the men's caftans, but instead closed edge-to edge down the front; however, those gores are present on a surviving outer caftan from the Topkapi Museum.

FABRICS
. Fabrics ranged from light silks, satins and cottons to sumptuous polychrome silks and gold-threaded brocades to heavy Italian style velvets and velvet brocades, the more colourful the better (dark or sombre colours were uncommon).
. Caftans of lighter-weight materials were wean closer to the body, with the heavier fabrics being the outer layers.
· Cotton was the usual lining material, with fur occasionally used to Iine a heavy outer coat. Silk facing was used at the neck, cuffs, hem and side slits, and was usually a contrasting colour to the caftan fabric.
. Apart from the quality of the fabrics, there was little difference in style or articles of dress between rich and poor, nor between those of Muslims or non-Muslims.

BELTS & SASHES (uckur)
. The Ottomans were unusual among Islamic cultures for not treating the belt as a symbol of martial power and prestige. Belts are rarely shown in paintings before the 17th century, and were not a conspicuous past of male civilian dress.
· Sashes were made of a folded and seamed length of linen, measuring approximately 2m long by 15cm wide. They featured elaborate gold embroidered end panels around 12-15cm long.
. Several 16th century belts in the Topkapi are presumed to be women's. They are of ivory, mother of pearl or silver plaques, either joined by links or mounted on leather. They are elaborated decorated with gold and silver scrollwork, and set with jewels. Their length would indicate they were worn around the waist, not the hips.

HEADWEAR
· Men wore an enormous white turban wrapped over a red cap with a high crown, which projected above the turban. Blue and black caps are also sometimes seen in manuscript paintings. The turban was sometimes further decorated with a spray of peacock, ostrich or highly-prized black heron feathers, set in a tulip-shaped ornament and worn on the right-hand side.
. Women's headwear is less often depicted. It is most probable they wore veils or head scarves (pece) of light fabric, possibly embroidered. This was held in place with an elaborate, heavily embroidered headband tied across the forehead, such as survived in the tomb of Hurrem Sultan.
· At no time would a women ever have appeared in public without her head covered. The yasmak consisted of two pieces of fine muslin, one tied across the face under the nose and the other tied across the forehead draping the head. This was commonly worn out-of-doors along with the mantle (outer caftan). Islamic women were forbidden to appear unveiled before men other than their husbands or close relatives; of course other ethnic groups (ie Greeks) in Turkish cities were not subject to this law, and would forgo the yasmak but retain the headband and veil.

FOOTWEAR
· Footwear ranged from slippers to low leather shoes to high boots, and could be plain or heavily decorated with appliqued arabesques. All styles were worn by both sexes according to necessity. Toes were not excessively pointed nor curled upward.

PURSES
· Like belts purses were worn under the outer clothing. They do not appear in period illustrations.

JEWELLERY
. Ottomans were restrained in their use of jewellery. 16th century illustrations depict men occasionally wearing turban ornaments, and (thumb) rings, but most frequently not wearing jewellery at all.
. It is difficult to determine whether this restraint extended to Ottoman women although some illustrations show women wearing simple pendant pearl earrings and a simple necklace
.
REFERENCES
Baker, Patricia, Islamic Textiles, British Musuem Press 1995
Robinson, Julian, Body Packaging: A History of Dress, Macmillan 1988
Rogers, J M & Ward R M, Suleyman the Magnificent, Wellfleet Press 1988
Rogers, J M Hulye Tezcan & Selma Delibas, The Topkapi Saray Museum: Costumes, Embroideries & Other Textiles, Thames & Hudson 1986
The Age of Sultar Suleyman the Magnificent (exhibition catalogue) International Cultural Corporations of Australia, Ltd 1990

MIDDLE EASTERN SOURCES

compiled by Lady Keran Roslin
Email Lady Keran

The following is a bibliography of Ottoman & Persian sources which contain period miniatures and photos of artifacts. Most of the dancers are wearing 3 layers which cover everything. In none of them are ladies uncovered while dancing, neither are they wearing plunging necklines.

My understanding is that the u-shaped neckline is post period. I believe that the common view of Middle Eastern dancers' clothing is a combination of Little Egypt at the World's Fair, Hollywood and cabaret costume. It is one of my "pet peeves" because a woman who wore, in period, what many SCA dancers wear would have been treated as a harlot and stoned.
Not a pleasant fate.

PERSIAN and TURKISH SOURCES
Akurgal, Ekrem.
L'Art en Turquie
Fribourg: Office duy Livre, c1981
3/4 architecture & 1/4 textiles and artifacts

Atiyeh, George N., ed.
The Book in the Islamic World: The Written Word and Communication in the Middle East
Albany, N. Y.: State University of New York, c1995.
paper LC# 94-29487 ISBN 0-7914-2474-X

Baker, Patricia L.
Islamic Textiles
London: British Museum Press,c1995
ISBN 0-7141-2522-9

Blair, Sheila S. & Jonathan M. Bloom
The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250 - 1800
New Haven, CT.: Yale University Press, c1994
paper LC# 93-49561 ISBN 0-7148-3176-X
lots of color & B&W pictures

Bloom, Jonathan and Sheila Blair
Islamic Arts
London, G. B. Phaidon Press, c1997
paper ISBN 0-7148-3176-X

Dimand, Maurice S.
Persian Miniature Paintings
New York, Crown Publishers
n. d. paper

Feher, Geza
Turkish Miniatures: From the Period of Hungary's Turkish Occupation
Budapest, Hungary Corvina Press, Magyar Helikon, c1978
hardcover ISBN963-13-5077-5
B&W and color paintings in period of the Turkish invasion of Hungary by Turkish artists. Some are contemporary to the invasion and some are the Battle of Mohacs in 1526

Ferber, Stanley, comp. & ed.
Islam and the Medieval West: A Loan Exhibition at the University Art Gallery April 6- May 4, 1975.
Binghamton, N. Y.: State University of New York at Binghamton, 1975
paper

Golombek, Lisa & Maria Subtelny, eds.
Timurid Art and Culture: Iran and Central Asia in the Fifteenth Century.
Leiden, New York, Koln: E. J. Brill, c1992
ISBN 90-04-09531-4 LC# 91-29090
hardcover

Studies in Islamic Art and Architecture Supplements to Muqarnas Volume VI
Compilation of many papers on Middle Eastern topics.

Grant, Michael
Dawn of the Middle Ages
New York: Bonanza Books 1986, c1981
hardcover ISBN 0-517-62510-5

Gray, Basil
Persian Painting
Geneva, Switz.: Bookking International, c1995
paper LC# 76-62897 ISBN 2-605-00303-5

Krody, Sumru Belger
Flowers of Silk & Gold: Four Centuries of Ottoman Embroidery.
Washington, D. C.: Textile Museum, c2000
ISBN 1-85894-105-9 hardcover (my copy is a paperback)

Loukonine, Vladimir and Anatoli Ivanov
Lost Treasures of Persia: Persian Art in the Hermitage Museum
Washington, D. C.: Mage Publishers, c1996
hardcover ISBN 0-934211-49-3
Medieval textiles, bronze, & illumination

Lowry, Glenn D. and Susan Nemazee
A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book From the Vever Collection
Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution and Universityof Washington Press, c1988
paper LC#88-14550 ISBN 0-295-96677-7
gorgeous pictures

Melville, Charles, ed.
Safavid Persia: The History and Politics of an Islamic Society
London: I. B. Taurus & Co., c1996
paper ISBN1-86064-086-9

Moynihan, Elizabeth B.
Paradise as a Garden: In Persia and Mughal India
New York: George Braziller, c1979
ISBN0-8076-0933-pbk

Jane Gaston Mahler, General editor. Edited, with introductions and notes by Wiliam Lillys,.Robert Reiff, Emel Esin
Oriental Miniatures: Persian, Indian, Turkish
London: Souvenir Press, c1965.
no ISBN or LC in book
3 separate sections with color illustrations, Persian Miniatures, Indian Miniatures, Turkish Miniature Painting

Rogers, J. M. & R. M. Ward
Suleyman the Magnificent
Seacaucus, N. J.: Wellfleet Press, c1988.
hardcover ISBN 1-55521-657-9
Full of color pictures of paintings, clothing & other artifacts

Soudavar, Abolala
Art of the Persian Courts: Selections from the Art and History Trust Collection.
New York: Rizzoli, c1992.
hardcover ISBN 0-8478-1660-5 LC # 92-28278
gorgeous color pictures with text information on each picture

Stierlin, Henri
The Cultural History of Persia
London: Aurum Press, Ltd., c1984.
hardcover ISBN 0-906053-70-6
This oversized book contains one or two photos on every page. Collection in Tehran.

Tezcan, Hulye and Selma Delibas
The Topkapi Saray Museum: Costumes, Embroideries and Other Textiles.
Boston: Little, Brown and Co., c1980.
hardcover ISBN 0-8212-1634-1 LC# 86-61004
Translated, expanded & edited by J. M. Rogers
Contains 121 color plates, the majority are pictures of period clothing which belonged to Ottoman rulers. Includes informational text on silk, dyes, style & pattern, wool, fur trade, embroidery, etc.

Titley, Norah M.
Persian Miniature Painting and Its Influence on the Art of Turkey and India.
London: The British Library, c1983.
hardcover ISBN 0-7123-0001-5
Lots of good garb pics

Tulips, Arabesques & Turbans: Decorative Arts From the Ottoman Empire.
New York: Abbeville Press, c1982
hardcover LC# 81-20534 ISBN 0-89659-279-0
Contents: Ottoman Style, Textiles, The Ottoman Milieu, Calligraphy - Husn-i Hat, Metalwork, Painting, Ceramics

Watt, James C.Y. and Anne E. Wardell
When Silk was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles
New York, Harry N. Abrams, c1997
hardcover ISBN 0-8109-6513-5

Welch, Stuart Cary
Persian Painting: Five Royal Safavid Manuscripts of the Sixteenth Century.
New York: George Braziller, 1996.
paperback LC# 75-38508 ISBN 0-8076-0813-0
Lots of full page color illustrations


All photos, articles and bibliographies on this page are copyright by the authors. Permission to reproduce must be obtained from them.

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