Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 27. (Budapest, 2009)
Emese PÁSZTOR - Márta TÓTH - Anikó PATAKI - Andrea VÁRFALVI: Turkish Cases from the Esterházy Treasury
ven straps) 2 5 for two pairs of cases, covers for each of the cases and for arrows, and also arrows. Those pieces ordered for the personal use of the prince were indicated by the note 'for His Majesty himself. The most valuable versions of Turkish cases are covered with silver-gilt sheeting featuring an openwork design on a velvet ground or else with a ground of silk fabric that was either plain or shot with silver. 26 The silver-gilt sheeting was embellished with coloured enamel and with precious stones. 2 7 The Royal Treasury in Stockholm (Livrustkammaren) today holds a similarly embellished Turkish bow-case and quiver that were given as presents to King Gustavus Adolphus II of Sweden (1611-1632) by Djanibek Girey, khan of the Crimea (16101623 and 1628-1635), around the year 1632. 2 8 Another version of the bow-case and quiver sets resembling jewellery was presented by a Constantinopolitan merchant in 1659 to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich of Russia (1645-1676). Like the abovementioned Swedish example, this is a bowcase and arrow-case ensemble covered with silver-gilt openwork sheeting decorated with enamel and set with rubies and emeralds. Today it can be seen at the treasury of the tsars in Moscow (Orujeynaya Palata). 2 9 As well as these jewelled bow-cases and quivers once owned by kings or princes and counting as rarities, a few similarly costly bow-case and quiver sets serving display purposes have survived that (generally speaking) are embellished with dense fine silver and gold skófium embroidery on a (usually) red silk velvet ground on part of the surface or across the entire surface. Owing to the high cost of the metallic thread, at the time of embroidery a special padded and couched metallic-wire embroidery technique was used. With this technique, a coil of three to five metallic wires was affixed to the ground fabric using strong silk thread. The metallic wire proceeded on the right side of the fabric, while the thread used for holding the cord proceeded on the wrong side of the fabric, only occasionally being brought through to the right side in order to stitch the metallic wire-coil to the ground. This type of stitching is called the zerduz technique by the Turks. 3 0 Produced by the Sultan's workshops in the second half ol the sixteenth century, a few early variants of this kind of stitching are kept at the Treasury of the Topkapi Saray in Istanbul. ' 1 Among the Ottoman-Turkish cases kept in European collections, examples that are earlier than the mid-seventeenth century are rare. The known pieces from the sixteenth century or the first half of the seventeenth century see the Stockholm, Istanbul, Moscow, and other examples - were all ceremonial cases of exceptional value. They were probably made in the court workshops in Istanbul, as gifts to be presented in diplomacy and especially to make ties firmer. Known only from sources, the above-described Bethlen pieces may be linked to these special 'display' cases, which did not derive from material classifiable as trophies of war. Also linkable to these 'display' pieces are five exceptional fine ensembles each consisting of a separate bow-case, two bow-cases and two arrow-cases (nos. I-V). The special merit of these ensembles is that they can be compared with sources from the time that relate to them. Concerning the origins of the Esterházy pieces and the manner in which they entered the Esterházy Treasury we have no data. The sources merely confirm their being there. In the light of our present knowledge, they first appear in the inventories of the Esterházy Treasury in 1654. However, it is common knowledge that Palatine Miklós Esterházy 75
