Early Modern Silk Kaftans at the Topkapi Palace

The Topkapi Palace contains a wonderful collection of kaftans dating from the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries. Below are a few of these. 

 

Above:  Kaftan belonging to Mehmed II, known as the Conqueror (1432-1481). Silk lined with fur. The silk is probably of Turkmenistan origin.

 

Above: Kaftan belonging to Mehmed (1521-43), son of Suleiman the Magnificent. Crimson silk with a silver and silk edging fabric, detail below.

 

Below: Kaftan from the second half of the sixteenth century in an Italian silk.

 

 Below a silk and cotton kaftan that belonged to Sultan Selim I (1470-1520), and below that a detail of the fastening.

 

 

Below: an "armoured" kaftan belonging to  Mehmed II, the Conqueror (1432-1481) The label says silk and iron. 

 

Below: a kaftan that belonged to one of the sons of Bayezid II (1447-1512). There was a lot of infighting in the family and many of Bayezid's eight sons were killed either by their father or one of their brothers. The silk is Italian.