SHOWCASE 46. PRECIOUS FABRICS FROM BYZANTIUM, PERSIA AND TURKEY OF THE 14TH - 18TH CENTURIES

There was no regular production of precious fabric in Russia up to the 18th century. Expensive custom-made textiles were brought to Russia by merchants and embassies. The earliest precious fabric in the Armoury collection is a Byzantine cross-patterned satin worn by clergymen and other embroidered clothes of the Russian nobility. The ‘major’ (‘bolshoy’) sakkos of St Photius the Metropolitan and the ‘minor’ (‘maliy’) one, which may also have belonged to him, are made of Byzantine fabric. The ‘minor’ sakkos is embroidered with the figure of Metropolitan Peter. And the ‘major’ sakkos is embroidered with coloured silk, gold and silver threads with the portraits of Grand Prince Vassily of Moscow, his wife Sofia, their daughter Anna and her husband (future Emperor John V Palaiologos of Byzantium) and also the portrait of St Photius himself. All the portraits are framed with pearls. The portrait of the Russian Prince together with the Emperor of Byzantium testifies to the growing importance of the Moscow state. 

In the 16th-17th centuries, permanent trading relations were set up between the Russian state and both Persia and Turkey. Silk fabric from the Orient was held in high esteem at Tsars' court. Persian fabric in the Armoury collection dates back to the 17th century, a period which saw the flowering of Persian weaving. Persian satin, velvet, taffeta, damask and brocade of delicate colours (pale blue, pale pink, light green) were usually decorated with a foliate ornament — carnations, tulips, narcissi, irises and hyacinths. Silk cloth woven with very fine gold or silver threads was called altabas (brocade). This fabric, tight-woven and stiff, gave the impression of being cast from metal.

There was also a great demand for Turkish fabric in Russia in the 17th century. Represented in the Armoury collection, Turkish satin, velvet and brocade stand out for their ornamentation and bright colours. As for Persian fabric, a foliate design predominated, but the pattern was larger and more colourful. One often finds ornaments in the form of twelve-pointed stars and carnations in full bloom. The pomegranate was regarded as a symbol of good fortune. The larger the pattern, the higher the fabric was prized.