Imperial Ottoman Jewellery, Reading History Through Jewellery

Book Review: “Imperial Ottoman Jewellery, ReadingHistory Through Jewellery” by Gül İrepoğluReview by Rania Elsayed* and Salim Ayduz***MA Student in Muslim Cultures, Institute For The Study of Muslim Civilizations at AgaKhan University(International), London, UK.**Senior Researcher at British Muslim Heritage Centre.

Hardcover: 360 pp

Published by BKG Publications; 1st edition September 2012

ISBN: 9786055488147

IntroductionThe Jewels adorning one of the most famous exhibition halls at the Topkapı palace reflect far beyond anymaterialistic value. Whether you possess jewels to define your social status or as means to invest yourmoney, the Jewellery of the Topkapı Palace Museum defines the history of one of the greatest states in theworld from its rise in the 15th Century until the 20th Century.

Throughout the pages of Imperial Ottoman Jewellery, Prof İrepoğlu creates a detailed study of the Ottomantreasury, in a style combining that historical and novelistic approach, and opens the gates of the Ottomanhistory through the items preserved over ages in that treasury; from weaponry such as knives, daggers,swords, shields, bow cases, pistols and rifles, to equestrian equipment’s to sweets and pen boxes, writingchests and implements to combs, mirrors and hairbrushes, pipes and nargilas to chandeliers, jugs, pitchers,cups, censers and flasks, bowls and washbasins, clocks and watches, clothes, aigrettes, binoculars andspectacles, jewellery of the harem and the sultans and the heads of state represented in earrings,necklaces, bracelets, rings, belts, shoes, slippers, decorative orders, helmets and armour.

The book is abundant with high quality photographs illustrating Prof İrepoğlu study of the world of theOttoman jewellery and its influence on the daily life of the imperial court not to mention its impact on thecultural, religious and political aspects of the imperial court.

Unlike the catastrophic fate other treasuries had faced, most of the Ottoman treasury remained safe andintact and the tale of each item was passed from one generation to the other. Furthermore, the flawlessregistration system, which the Ottoman treasury stewards applied under the commands of the sultans,brought these enchanting possessions to the book of Prof İrepoğlu.

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Book Review: “Imperial Ottoman Jewellery, Reading History... http://heritageofislam.co.uk/book-review/book-review-imperia...

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Front cover of “Imperial Ottoman Jewellery, Readinghistory through jewellery” (Istanbul, 2012).

Ottoman Royal Treasury: Hâzine-i HumâyûnIn her book Prof İrepoğlu writes: “The first Treasury (Hâzine-i Humâyûn) was sealed and the seal handedto the Grand Vizier; this duty later was passed to the Treasury Steward (Haznedâr). The Imperial Treasurywas always guarded by the chief treasurer, the Treasury Steward, and between 60 and 150 pages undertheir supervision. The chief treasurer never left the sultan’s side, in times of peace and war, at home and onmilitary campaign. Two registers that list the contents and signed by the Treasurer were at all times underthe guard of the armourer and the steward. The Treasury Steward was obliged to hand over the entireTreasury to his successor when he himself left office; this rule was even more strictly observed after thediscovery of Treasury items amongst the possessions of Mermer Mehmed Pasha. This former TreasurySteward had risen to the rank of Grand Vizier and died in 1680; reversion inventory revealed the missingitems. Reversion of the estate of a dismissed or dead official was strictly enforced and basically involved thereturn to the Imperial Treasury of any precious items presented to the officer by the crown. Upon the deathof a sultan, any items of Jewellery he purchased, that is, any item that did not belong to the crown, wouldhave been noted down in duplicate, and these items, along with one of the books, would have been sealedin an iron coffer and placed in the Treasury. The Treasury Steward would use the black stone seal of YavuzSultan Selim (the Steadfast) to seal the exterior door of the Imperial Treasury. Sultan SeIim I, better known‘the Steadfast’ filled the Treasury with a wealth of booty upon his return from the Tabriz and EgyptCampaigns, and willed his descendants to use this seal: “Whosoever that follows me replaces with coppercoins the gold that I have filled this Treasury with, let him use his own seal to seal this Treasury, otherwiseever seal it with my seal.” His command obeyed until the final day of the empire, the Imperial Treasury wasalways sealed with the seal of Selim the Steadfast.”

In her writing technique, Prof İrepoğlu adopts a three-dimensional approach: as an architect whenpreparing the content and arranging the chapters of the book; as a historian when documenting thehistorical data of each item and finally as a novelist when writing the tales of each item in the treasury oreven creating a story for those whose history remain unknown.

Reading through the chapters of the book, one realizes that, true to their value, the Ottoman jewelleryreflect the development and expansion of the Ottoman State and how such expansion into other nationsenriched the Ottoman treasury with priceless items (whether they were gifts or spoils of war) reflecting theheritage of their respective native lands, not to mention the jewellers and goldsmiths who flocked into theState to further enrich the jewellery industry.

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The black stone seal of Yavuz Sultan Selim to seal the exteriordoor of the Imperial Treasury. (Topkapi Palace Museum).

3. Jewellery illuminates historyTo substantiate the richness of the Ottoman treasury Prof İrepoğlu quotes verbatim how notable foreignfigures described the treasury. In her book she mentions that: “Sultan Abdulmecid (r. 1839-1861) isreported to have exhibited the contents of the Treasury to foreign diplomats for the first time. Thedescription of the Ottoman Treasury by a Spaniard who had been captured by the Admiral of the FleetSinan Pasha in 1522, and who subsequently served for three years as a physician, reflects all the glory ofthe royal wealth. Despite never personally seeing any of it, de Villalón still succeeded in gathering asignificant amount of information:”… however much they may heap all that is held in other treasuries in theworld, it would never equal anything that is held here…”.

Furthermore, the author adds: “Alvise Gritti, son of a Venetian doge, lived in a palace in Pera in Istanbul fora while. The present-day name of the district, Beyoğlu, ‘the Lord’s Son’, is attributed to this nobleman. Hiscontribution to the dazzling display of costumes and jewels in the early years of Sultan Suleyman theMagnificent (r. 1520-1566), then firmly set on the path to becoming a world leader, is considerable.Supported by the patronage of Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, himself well in favour with the ruler of theuniverse, Gritti did his utmost to envelop the sultan in jewels, a very lucrative industry for his own benefit.“The extraordinary favour Alvise Gritti enjoyed”, a reference to an occasion when Ibrahim Pasha broke withall tradition and escorted Gritti to his home in Pera fuelled speculation amongst common folk: “the wildsultan was bewitched by Ibrahim.” This some entire clue to the influence this particular Italian wielded.Horses and tapestries, along with jewels, became reflections of magnificent power at this time ascommerce with Italians grew. The dazzling headdress resembling a colossal helmet, four crowns worn ontop of one another, commands a very special place in the history of Ottoman sultans, who had placed suchimportance on head adornments. This peerless jewel made by Venetian craftsmen for Sultan Suleyman theMagnificent in 1533 was a stunning piece of design, one that needed a consortium of Rialto jewellers tomake, and whose public display at the Doges’ Place was received with great acclaim, before the official saleto the Ottoman court. This extravagant crown was the brainchild of Gritti, the crown that was purchasedover the objections of the chief treasurer just before a particularly costly campaign.

That the sultan whose fame had begun to spread to the entire world viewed, or was made to view, thisextraordinary crown-helmet as a manifestation of his European aspirations, as something of a toolreflecting his plans for the future, is a highly likely scenario. The rumour is that the sultan also purchased,along with the crown, jewelled saddle and trappings worth 100,000 gold ducats, a golden throneembellished with pearls, worth 40,000 gold ducats, a jewelled sceptre worth 100,000 gold ducats andmiscellaneous other jewels; splendour befitting that item of headgear competing with the papal crown, afeather in the crescent aigrette at the top, the crown presented to the ruler of Islam preparing to show hismight in Europe, as he sets off for Vienna, the sovereign determined to outshine the German Holy Roman‘Ceasar’…”

Another account of a foreign figure: “Jean-Baptiste Tavernier arrived in Istanbul in 1631 during the reign ofSultan Murad IV (r. 1623 – 1640); another foreigner who never personally saw the Treasury, he combinedhis own observations with the accounts he heard from the chief treasurer and two pages who had servedfor many years in the palace:

“… But what is most precious in that chamber and transcends all the rest is a strong coffer all of

ironwork, which contains another of about a foot and a half square, wherein there is a vast

treasure. When this coffer is opened, you see a kind of goldsmith’s jewel box, wherein are ranked

all sorts of jewels of highest value, as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, a huge number of excellent

topazes, and four of those gems they call cat’s eyes, which are so beautiful, that they are not to

be valued. Having satisfied your curiosity with the former, you come next to a certain little

drawers full of several jewels, great roses of diamonds, pendants, other roses of rubies and

emeralds, strings and chains of pearls and bracelets. There stands aside by itself a cabinet, where

are the sorgouges,-aigrettes- or the thing wherein are fastened the heron-tops, which the Grand


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Seignior wears in his turban. They are as it were little handles, made in the fashion of tulips,

covered over with the most precious stoned of the seraglio, and it is into this that the heron-top

enters, that rich plume of feathers, whereof I have elsewhere given the description. […] If he has

a desire to satisfy his sight with the lustre of his precious jewels, he orders the coffer to be

brought into his own chamber; but if he call for some particular piece of the Treasury, he gives

order to the çeşnidarbaşi to fetch it, and that chief officer of the Treasury cannot enter into it,

without abundance of mysterious precautions.”

Ottoman jewellery extended far beyond accessories adorning men and women and some statesmen of theimperial court. As Prof İrepoğlu mentions in her book: “As the Ottoman state evolved into a global empire,the use of jewelled objects permeated all aspects of everyday culture, becoming inextricably linked withrituals secular and religious.” Jewellery included a wide range of weaponry, hairstyling tools, clothing, diningtools, means of entertainment such as chess, personal possessions such as pen and sweets boxes… etc.

The most distinctive piece of jewellery, which gave definition to the grandeur, and power of the Ottomansultan is the aigrette, which Prof İrepoğlu described as a phenomenon worthy of being examined. Shededicated significant number of pages to the aigrettes and their development era after the other in additionto providing the reader with illustrations substantiating her argument.

On aigrettes, Prof İrepoğlu writes: “Aigrettes of the late 16th and early 17th centuries reflect the glory ofthe empire, in both workmanship and the colour of the precious stones thereon, and are nowcomplemented by the jewelled daggers and saddles and tack. Sparkling with diamonds, emeralds, rubiesand turquoises, these aigrettes are sufficiently sumptuous to manifest the vibrant wealth of the State untilwell into the end of the 17th century…”

Gold nargile- hookah pipe. (Topkapi Palace Museum).

Aigrettes bear witness to hundreds of yearsProf İrepoğlu further emphasizes the role of the aigrettes: “During the reign of Sultan Mehmed (II) theConqueror (r. 1451-1481), there was little need of aigrettes to make a statement of power: still basking inthe glory of having taken a jewel of a city, making it his own capital, and adorning that exceptional city withhis own customs, may well have been sufficient ‘for the time being’ perhaps, his outward gaze andaspirations towards founding a global empire notwithstanding. A higher priority surely was endowing thecity with a new functionality, monuments defining that new path. There was time now for the pursuit ofnew ornaments, and that time would come to seek out new images…

Sadly, we have no information on what aigrette Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent wore upon his accession.


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We can only presume that at the onset of his reign that was to leave such an indelible mark on not only theOttoman State, but also Europe, and quite possibly the entire world of the 16th century, his accessoriesmight not yet have matured into quite the breath-taking items they were destined to become. At best, hisaccession aigrette might have glimmered as a concept.

Aigrettes of the late 16th and early 17th centuries reflect the glory of the state, in both workmanship andthe colour of the precious stones thereon, and are now complemented by the jewelled daggers, saddles,and tack. Sparkling with diamonds, emeralds, rubies and turquoises, these aigrettes are sufficientlysumptuous to manifest the vibrant wealth of the empire until well into the end of the 17th century: theaigrettes adorning the heads of Sultans Mehmed III (in a victory parade) and Murad IV (an equestrianportrait) also serve as unashamed declarations of splendour bestowed by might.

The world changes, offering new challenges as the 18th century wears on; enormous stones radiate fromthe hearts of exaggerated aigrettes, virtual focal points in the portraits of increasingly melancholy sultans…Did anyone reach out to the brilliance of diamonds in an attempt to cast away the shadows of misfortunesimpossible to ignore? The portrait of Sultan Mustafa IV depicts a chestful of diamond pave frogging’s on hiskaftan, a long, diamond-encrusted dagger at his sash, a crest-style diamond aigrette, with tremblantpendants on either side, and topped with a plume more than twice the height of his turban, and theuncommonly large diamond and ruby solitaire rings on his fingers are expressions of a taste in jewellery ofan era that was quickly fading.

By the 19th century, aigrettes are transformed in size and shape, to better complement the reborn fez,however westernised, still remaining very much an interpretation of the intrinsic.

The world gathers pace, and as the 20th century arrives, so do other concerns, other priorities and acompletely new era that eschews the wearing of aigrettes. The symbols of power have changed.”

Armour. (Topkapi Palace Museum).

About the AuthorA graduate of Istanbul Fine Arts Academy School of Architecture, Prof. Dr. Arzu Gül İrepoğlu started heracademic career as assistant and doctorate reader at the Istanbul University Faculty of Letters, School ofAesthetics and History of Art. She obtained her doctorate in 1984. Progressing in History of Art, shebecame assistant lecturer in 1991 and professor in 1997. She lectured undergraduates in Renaissance Art,Baroque Art, Neo-Classical and Romantic Art, and 19th Century European Art, and the Art of theWesternization Period in the Ottoman Empire, and graduates and doctorate readers in Comparative ArtHistory and the Art of Ottoman Miniatures. She retired after serving the Istanbul University School ofLetters, Department of History of Art for 26 years. She continues her research into the art of painting in the18-20th Centuries, the artistic relations between the East and the West and the history of jewellery, with asignificant number of scholarly books as well as articles published to date. Through the 2005-2006 seasons,İrepoğlu produced and co-presented -together with M. Armağan- a weekly TRT2 TV programme entitledŞehir/Mekan –City/Space.


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The author of the book Prof. Gül İrepoğlu

Prof İrepoğlu serves on the Executive Board of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO and is theExecutive Chairperson of the Tangible Cultural Heritage Committee. She is a member of both the Board ofGovernors and the Board of Trustees of Istanbul Lycée. İrepoğlu is also a member of TAÇ (Turkish HeritageConservation Foundation), Topkapı Palace Friends Society, Kitchen Friends Society and the ARIT AmericanResearch Institute in Turkey.

Her first novel Unto the Tulip Gardens: My Shadow was set in the Tulip Era written in 2003. This wasfollowed by The Concubine, this time a love story set in the late 18th century royal Ottoman harem. Herlatest book published in May 2009 is An Istanbul Kaleidoscope with a Bow, an autobiographical look atmodern history through the medium of fashion. Prof İrepoğlu continues to lecture in Turkey and abroad andwrite fiction.


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Jewelled dagger. (Topkapi Palace Museum).

Contents11 Foreword: The thrill of jewellery17 Introduction: The palace and jewels

CHAPTER I25 The sultan’s treasury

CHAPTER II35 The tradition of jewellery37 Attitudes to jewellery40 Jewellers45 Jewellery as gifts50 Covetable aigrettes51 Weddings and jewellery51 Reversion

CHAPTER III55 In the colourful light of precious gems57 Attitude to gems64 Gemmology and poetry70 The prophecy

CHAPTER IV73 Jewellery in imperial motifs75 Towards a distinctive style79 Ottoman motifs transformed into jewels

CHAPTER V90 Jewelled objects93 Jewels in use, not hoarded95 Indispensable: thrones107 The jewel adorning the sovereign’s presence: the pendant111 Jewelled bookbindings115 Jewels drawn from a well116 Writing chests and implements121 Kaaba gifts122 Prayer beads122 Flasks129 Jugs, pitchers, cups130 Pans, dishes, trays, ladles


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134 Gum – and sweet boxes135 Washbasins, ewers135 Bowls136 Spoons, forks, salt cellars137 Coffee and beyond140 Censers, rose-water flasks143 Boxes143 Cradles146 Candlesticks, oil-lamps147 Chandeliers147 Waxwork trees149 Mirrors148 Reflections in the mirror151 Combs and hairbrushes152 Clocks, watches and clockwork items156 Swords157 Daggers160 The dagger and…163 Knives164 Maces167 Shields167 Bow cases and quivers, targets170 Pistols and rifles170 Equestrian equipment180 Nargiles, pipes180 Neys180 Chess sets183 Fans, fly swats184 Poles, rods, sceptres, walking sticks186 Binoculars, spectacles186 Umbrellas187 Circumcision sets187 Pick-axes

CHAPTER VI189 Wearing jewellery191 The Sultan’s jewellery192 Aigrette193 The concept of aigrette and head-dress194 Types and uses of aigrettes198 Suleyman the Magnificent passes through Belgrade206 The splendour of the sultan’s aigrette220 Aigrette symbolising sovereignty even when not worn221 Aigrette as an imperial gift225 Aigrettes around the sultan229 Aigrettes after death232 Equine aigrettes234 Rings and archery thumb rings240 Decorations, orders241 Wearable jewellery242 Froggings and buttons250 Belts259 Boots, shoes, slippers and patterns260 Helmets and armour265 Women’s Jewellery268 Aigrettes, headwear and pins287 Necklaces292 Earrings296 Bracelets297 Rings299 Wearing jewellery300 A night at the Harem

CHAPTER VII303 Jewellery illuminates history308 Aigrettes testify to centuries339 Ottoman Sultans340 Bibliography352 Index359 Photo credits and photographers


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A square emerald aigrette. (Topkapi Palace Museum).

Resources and further readingAtasoy, Nurhan. 1582 surname-i hümayun : düğün kitabı. Istanbul: Koçbank, 1997.

Atasoy, Nurhan. Hasbahçe : Osmanlı kültüründe bahçe ve çiçek. Istanbul: Aygaz, 2002.

Atasoy, Nurhan. İbrahim Paşa Sarayı. Istanbul: Istanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi, 1972.

Atasoy, Nurhan. Otağ-ı hümayun Osmanlı çadırları. Istanbul: Aygaz, 2000.

Atasoy, Nurhan. Splendors of the Ottoman sultans. Trans. Tulay Artan. Wonders, 1992.

Atasoy, Nurhan-Filiz Çağman. Turkish miniature painting. translated by Esin Atıl. Istanbul : R.C.D.Cultural Institute, 1974.

Gregorietti, Guido. Jewellery through the ages. foreword by Erich Steingraeber ; translated from theItalian by Helen Lawrence. — London : The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, 1970.

Maxwell, K.R. Western Asiatic jewelry. London: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1971.

McLintock, W. F. P. A guide to the collection of Gemstones in the Geological Museum: (museum ofpractical geology) ; revised by P. A. Sabine 3rd ed. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Ofice, 1951.

Ross, H. C. The Art of Bedouin Jewellery, 1981; Arabesque Commercial SA, Montreux.

Saud, Rabah. Introduction to Muslim art and ornaments: http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?articleID=204

The Splendour of Turkish Civilisation Ottoman Treasures of the Topkapı Palace. Japan: The MiddleEastern Culture Cen, 1988.

Whitlock, Herbert P. The story of the gems, New York 1997.

Wilkinson, Alix. Ancient Egyptian jewellery. London: Methuen, 1971.

Zohar: the book of splendor. ed. Gershom G. Scholem. London: Rider and Co., 1977.

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