Riding Coat

Title: Riding Coat

Date: first half 13th century

Geography: Attributed to probably Iran

Medium: Silk; weft-faced compound twill (samite)

Dimensions: Textile: H. 68 7/8 in. (175 cm)
W. across sleeves: 50 3/8 in. (128 cm)
W. across skirt: 37 in. (94 cm)

Classification: Textiles-Costumes

Credit Line: Purchase, Director's Fund and Oscar de la Renta Ltd. Gift, 2008

Accession Number: 2008.346a–c

Riding Coat

This robe closes on the right in a style referred to as aqbiya tatariyya, or "Tatar style."[1] A loop attached at the waist suggests the inclusion of a sash, while two small loops on the sleeves would have served to hold them in place when folded. The pronounced flare at the hip Indicates that this coat was likely intended to be worn while riding a horse.

Stylistically, the birds are by far the most unusual aspect of the textile’s iconography. Rendered with relatively little detail, they stand passant with outer wings raised and inner wings meeting in a heartlike shape at the center. Equally unusual for an Iranian depiction of birds are the tails terminating in distinctive "hooks." The closest parallels can be found on a Spanish textile fragment from about 1200 in which confronted birds appear regardant with inwardly curling hooked tails, and on a textile with griffins that has been variably attributed to Central Asia, North Africa, or Sicily.[2] Similarly, the roundel upon which the birds perch is closely related to Andalusian textiles, most notably the lampas mantle of Ferdinand III (r. 1217–52).[3] While significantly more dense in its overall decorative scheme, this robe features a remarkably similar motif of palmettes sprouting from an eight-sided star enclosing a rosette.

It is, however, still possible to situate this coat within the context of the Seljuq period. The ascendance of the civil service under the Seljuq vizier Nizam al-Mulk placed great significance on adab—urbanity and sophistication—which spurred the development of new styles of clothing and an increased interest in luxurious fabrics, particularly silk.[4] Likewise, the incorporation of southern European motifs on Islamic textiles is not without precedent. There exists a group of textiles attributed to Iran or Central Asia in the second half of the fourteenth century that fuse Spanish, Italian, eastern Islamic, and Chinese motifs in what has been referred to as an "international decorative repertoire."[5]Paradoxically, however, while the style commonly attributed to the Seljuqs is that of the left-buttoning aqbiya turkiyya, or "Turkish" cut, and although this is the prevailing style of robe in illustrations from contemporary manuscripts, there is perhaps only a single complete robe attributed to the Seljuq period that closes on the left.[6] All others close on the right. Taken within the context of adab, however, it becomes possible that the adoption of the "Tatar-style" coat was a conscious decision on the part of the affluent sedentary Persian population, as it was less identifiable with the Seljuq Turks. These associations would have been increasingly acute toward the end of the Seljuq period, as a result of the Khwarazm Shah invasions and perhaps exacerbated by the westward migrations of nomadic groups at the start of the Mongol invasion.

Michael Falcetano in [Canby, Beyazit, and Rugiadi 2016]

Footnotes:

1. This term may be anachronistic for the period but was widely applied in later sources and scholarly works. See Stillman, Yedida Kalfon. Arab Dress: A Short History from the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times. Themes in Islamic Studies, 2. Leiden and Boston, 2000, p. 64, and pls. 17, 22–23; Stillman, Y[edida] K[alfon], N. A. Stillmann, and T. Majda. “Libas.” In EI2 1960–2009, vol. 5 (1986), pp. 732–53, pls. 38–49; Reinhart and Dozy 1845 (reference not in catalogue), pp. 352–62; and Mayer, L[eo] A[ry]. Mamluk Costume: A Survey. Geneva, 1952, pp. 21–22 and n. 1.

2. Metropolitan Museum (30.94 and 1984.344). For the latter textile, see When Silk was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles. Exh. cat., Cleveland Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Catalogue by James C. Y. Watt, Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. New York, 1997, pp. 156–57, no. 44, which attributes it to the eastern Iranian region (mid-13th century).

3. Concha Herrero Carretero in Vestiduras ricas: El Monasterio de las Huelgas y su época, 1170–1340. Exh. cat., Palacio Real de Madrid. Catalogue by Rafael López Guzmán, Antonio Vallejo Triano, and others. Madrid, 2005, p. 175, no. 20.

4. See Gabrieli, F[rancesco]. “Adab.” In EI2 1960–2009, vol. 1 (1960), pp. 175–76; and Stillman, Stillmann, and Majda 1986 (reference in note 1 above).

5. Persson, Helen. “Chinese Silks in Mamluk Egypt.” In Global Textile Encounters, edited by Marie-Louise Nosch, Zhao Feng, and Lotika Varadarajan, pp. 105–19. Ancient Textiles Series, 20. Oxford and Philadelphia, 2014, pp. 118–19.

6. The robe in question was sold at Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World. Sale cat., Sotheby’s, London, October 6, 2010, sale L10223. London, 2010, lot 130.

[ art dealer, Hong Kong, until 1986; sold to Bonan]; [ Yves Bonan, Venice, 1986–2007; sold to Cristi]; [ Carlo Cristi, Milan, 2007–8; sold to MMA]

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs," April 25–July 24, 2016, no. 25.

Canby, Sheila R., Deniz Beyazit, and Martina Rugiadi. "The Great Age of the Seljuqs." In Court and Cosmos. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. no. 25, pp. 97–98, ill. (color).