Velvet Panel

In the fifteenth century, the Ottoman textile industry established itself in the province of Bursa (southeast of Istanbul), which became known as both a major manufacturing center and a depot of silk cocoons imported from Iran.

Pieces like this velvet panel were used to decorate walls or were cut to form clothes or domestic funishings for the upper classes. Flowers, particulary carnations and tulips, were recurring motifs that were very popular in Ottoman textile design. With their bold simplicity and often crimson grounds, Ottoman textiles are suggestive of supreme confidence ahd power. The vigilant care of these treasured panels by the court and the elite has ensured their preservation over the centuries.