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Kaftan

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Kurdish man wearing a kaftan. Illustration by Max Karl Tilke published in Oriental Costumes: Their Designs and Colors (1922), Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi.

A kaftan or caftan (/ˈkæftæn/; Arabic: قفطان, qafṭān; Persian: خفتان, khaftān; Turkish: kaftan) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, kaftan instead refers to a style of men's long suit with tight sleeves.

It may be made of wool, cashmere, silk, or cotton, and may be worn with a sash. Popular during the time of the Ottoman Empire, detailed and elaborately designed garments were given to ambassadors and other important guests at the Topkapı Palace.

Variations of the kaftan were inherited by cultures throughout Asia and were worn by individuals in Russia (North Asia, Eastern Europe and formerly Central Asia), Southwest Asia and Northern Africa.

Styles, uses, and names for the kaftan vary from culture to culture. The kaftan is often worn as a coat or as an overdress, usually having long sleeves and reaching to the ankles. In regions with a warm climate, it is worn as a light-weight, loose-fitting garment. In some cultures, the kaftan has served as a symbol of royalty.

History

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The origins of the kaftan are uncertain, but it is believed to have first appeared in ancient Mesopotamia.[1][2] It is described as a long robe as far as the calves sometimes or just under the knee, and is open at the front and the sleeves are slight cut at the wrists or even as far as to the middle of the arms.[citation needed]

Abbasid era

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During the Islamic golden age of the Abbasid era, the cosmopolitan super-culture[clarification needed] spread far and wide to Chinese emperors, Anglo-Saxon coinage, but also in Constantinople too (current day Istanbul). They were mimicking and imitating Baghdad culture (capital of the Abbasids).[citation needed]

In the 830s, Byzantine Emperor Theophilus, who fought the Abbasids on the battlefield and built a Baghdad-style palace near the Bosporus, went about in kaftans and turbans. Even as far as the streets of Ghuangzhou during the era of Tang dynasty, the Abbasid kaftan was in fashion.[3]

The kaftan became a luxurious fashion,[when?] a richly styled robe with buttons down the front. The Caliphs wore elegant kaftans made from silver or gold brocade and buttons in the front of the sleeves.[4] The Caliph al-Muqtaddir (908–932) wore a kaftan from silver brocade Tustari silk and had his son one made from Byzantine silk richly decorated with figures. The kaftan was spread far and wide by the Abbasids and made known throughout the Middle East and North Africa.[5]

Types

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Turkic kaftan

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The caftan appears to be the oldest Turkish dress, this costume can be traced as far back as the Hun and Göktürk periods.[6] The kaftan was the favourite garment worn in Turkic states of Central Asia, the Turkic Empire in India, the Seljuk Turks and the Ottomans.[7] It was the most important component of the Seljuk period and the oldest known examples of this robe are said to have been found in Hun tombs.[8] The costume of the Gokturk period consisted of long kaftans that are closed with a belt at the waist, these kaftans can be observed in Gokturk statues.[9][10]

The Seljuk Sultan Ahmad Sanjar who ruled from 1097 to 1118 gave 1000 red kaftans to his soldiers.[11] In 1058 as well as the period of the Seljuk Sultan Malik-Shah I, the Seljuk Turks wore kaftans and excavations discovered a child's kaftan dating back to the reign of Sanjar-Shah who ruled from 1185 or 1186 to 1187.[12][13][14]

The tiles in the Kubadabad Palace depict Turkish figures dressed in kaftans.[15] The palace was built for Sultan Aladdin Kayqubad I who ruled from 1220 to 1237. Furthermore, typical Seljuk depictions from the 11th to the 13th century depict figures dressed in Turkish style kaftans.[16] The kaftan was also worn by the Anatolian Seljuks who had even gifted kaftans to the first Ottoman Sultan, Osman I.[17][18] In connection with the inheritance of Osman I, the historian Neşri described a kaftan in the list of inherited items: "There was a short-sleeved kaftan of Denizli cloth".[19]

In an excavation in Kinet in Turkey, a bowl dating back to the early 14th century was found with a depiction of a man wearing what appears to be a kaftan.[20]

Kaftans were worn by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Decoration on the garment, including colours, patterns, ribbons, and buttons, indicated the rank of the person who wore it. In the first half of the 14th century Orhan Ghazi captured Bursa and made it the Ottoman capital. One of the chief specialties of Bursa was gold embroidery among other weaving related specialties, an archive notes that two kaftans made of the finest Bursa gold-brocaded velvet were prepared for the circumcision of Geliboulu Bey Sinan Pasha's two sons in 1494.[21][22]

Ibn Battuta who had visited Anatolia witnessed that a mudarris was wearing a gown embroidered with golden pieces and that a Seljuk Bey gifted a kaftan that was embroidered with golden threads.[23] From the 14th century through the 17th century, textiles with large patterns were used. By the late 16th and early 17th centuries, decorative patterns on the fabrics had become smaller and brighter. By the second half of the 17th century, the most precious kaftans were those with yollu: vertical stripes with varying embroidery and small patterns – the so-called "Selimiye" fabrics.[citation needed]

Most fabrics manufactured in Turkey were made in Istanbul and Bursa, but some textiles came from as far away as Venice, Genoa, Persia (Iran), India, and even China. kaftans were made from velvet, aba, bürümcük (a type of crepe with a silk warp and cotton weft), canfes, çatma (a heavy silk brocade), gezi, diba (Persian: دیبا), hatayi, kutnu, kemha, seraser (سراسر) (brocade fabric with silk warp and gold or silver metallic thread weft), serenk, zerbaft (زربافت), and tafta (تافته). Favoured colours were indigo, kermes, violet, pişmiş ayva or "cooked quince", and weld yellow.[citation needed] Silk or wooled vests embellished with couched gold thread or silk embroidery probably represent the introduction of a Turkish feature into an Arab aesthetic.[24]

Nearly 2,500 caftans and other garments belonging to subsequent sultans from the 15th to the 19th century are preserved in the Topkapı Palace museum.[25] The Topkapı Palace houses 21 kaftan that belonged to Mehmed II, 77 kaftan that belonged to Suleiman the Magnificent, 13 that belonged to Ahmed I, 30 that belonged to Osman II and 27 that belonged to Murad IV.[26]

Depiction of Ertugrul wearing a kaftan
Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in a kaftan of complex woven fabric.
A young member of the Ottoman court dressed in a navy velvet caftan woven with gold. Variously attributed to Gentile Bellini or Costanzo da Ferrara, with a caption in Persian by a later hand. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Moroccan kaftan

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According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the kaftan was introduced into the Barbary States by the Ottomans and spread by fashion as far as Morocco.[27]

According to art historian Rachida Alaoui, the kaftan in Morocco dates back to the end of the 15th century and goes back to the region's Moorish history, which represents the medieval heritage of Al-Andalus. However, the first written record of the garment being worn in Morocco is from the 16th century, she states.[28]

According to Naima El Khatib Boujibar, however, the kaftan might only have been introduced to Morocco by the Saadi Sultan Abd al-Malik, who had lived in Algiers and Istanbul.[29] Abd al-Malik, who had officially acknowledged Ottoman overlordship throughout his time as ruler of Morocco, dressed in Ottoman fashion, spoke Turkish, reorganised his army and administration in imitation of Ottoman practices and used Ottoman Turkish titles for his officials.[30] The second half of the sixteenth century was a period of Ottoman influence in Morocco during which Ahmad al-Mansur, who was greatly influenced by Ottoman culture, adopted Turkish costumes and customs, he introduced Ottoman fashions of dress, his army adopted Turkish costumes and titles and ambassadors even noted the use of Turkish pottery and Turkish carpets in the Badi Palace.[31][32][33] Aspects of Ottoman culture had been introduced to Morocco during the reign of both Abd al-Malik and Ahmad al-Mansur and Abd al-Malik's brief reign opened a period which continued under his successor of the "Turkification" of Morocco.[34][35] Henri Terrasse asserted that Moroccan embroidery styles are almost all derived from the former regions of the Turkish empire, the introduction of gold thread embroidery into North Africa itself is reputed to have been introduced with Turkish rule.[36][37]

Worn by the dignitaries and women of the palace at first, it became fashionable among the middle classes from the late 17th century onwards.[38]

Today in Morocco, kaftans are worn by women of different social groups and the word kaftan is commonly used to mean a "one-piece traditional fancy dress". Alternative two-piece versions of Moroccan kaftans are called takchita and worn with a large belt. The takchita is also known as Mansouria which derives from the name of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, who invented Al-Mansouria and the new fashion of wearing a two-piece kaftan.[39]

Since June 5, 2022, the Moroccan kaftan and the brocade of Fes have been officially included in the list of intangible cultural heritage by ICESCO.[40]

West African kaftan

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In West Africa, a kaftan is a pullover robe, worn by both men and women. The women's robe is called a kaftan, and the men's garment is referred to as a Senegalese kaftan.

A Senegalese kaftan is a pullover men's robe with long bell-like sleeves. In the Wolof language, this robe is called a mbubb and in French, it is called a boubou. The Senegalese kaftan is an ankle-length garment, and is worn with matching drawstring pants called tubay. Usually made of cotton brocade, lace, or synthetic fabrics, these robes are common throughout West Africa. A kaftan and matching pants are called a kaftan suit. The kaftan suit is worn with a kufi cap.[41] Senegalese kaftans are formal wear in all West African countries.

Persian

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Persian kaftan robes of honour were commonly known as khalat or kelat.[42]

North Asia and Eastern Europe

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Russian

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Gotlandic picture stone showing men in kaftan-like attire

In Russia, the word "kaftan" is used for another type of clothing: a style of men's long suit with tight sleeves. Going back to the people of various Baltic, Turkic, Varangian (Vikings) and Iranic (Scythian) tribes who inhabited today's Russia along with the Slavic population, kaftan-like clothing was already prevalent in ancient times in regions where later the Rus' Khaganate and Kievan Rus' states appeared.[citation needed]

The Russian kaftan was probably influenced by Persian and/or Turkic people in Old Russia.[43] The word "kaftan" was adopted from the Tatar language, which in turn borrowed the word from Persia.[44] In the 13th century, the kaftan was still common in Russia. In the 19th century, Russian kaftans were the most widespread type of outer-clothing amongst peasants and merchants in Old Russia. Currently in the early 21st century, they are most commonly used as ritual religious clothing by conservative Old Believers, in Russian fashion (Rusfashion), Russian folk dress and with regards to Russian folklore.[45]

Jewish

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Jewish children with a school teacher in Samarkand, wearing kaftans (circa 1910).

Hasidic Jewish culture adapted a silky robe (bekishe) or frock coat (kapoteh, Yiddish word kapote or Turkish synonym chalat) from the garb of Polish nobility,[46] which was itself a type of kaftan. The term kapoteh may originate from the Spanish capote or possibly from "kaftan" via Ladino. Sephardic Jews from Muslim countries wore a kaftan similar to those of their neighbours.[citation needed]

Southeast Asian

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In Southeast Asia, the kaftan was originally worn by Arab traders, as seen in early lithographs and photographs from the region. Religious communities that formed as Islam became established later adopted this style of dress as a distinguishing feature, under a variety of names deriving from Arabic and Persian such as "jubah", a robe, and "cadar", a veil or chador.[47]

Europe and United States

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Americans returning from journeys on the hippie trail helped popularise the kaftan.

In the recent era the kaftan was introduced to the West in the 1890s, Queen Victoria's granddaughter Alix of Hesse wore a traditional Russian coronation dress before a crowd which included Western on-lookers, this traditional dress featured the loose-fitting Russian kaftan which was so exotic to Western eyes.[48][better source needed] This was one of the first times a Western woman, a high-status Western woman who had also been seen in fashionable Western dress no less, was seen wearing something so exotic. The traditional Russian kaftan resembles the kaftans worn by the Ottoman sultans; it was in stark contrast to the tight-fitting, corseted dresses common in England at that time.[citation needed]

The kaftan slowly gained popularity as an exotic form of loose-fitting clothing. French fashion designer Paul Poiret further popularized this style in the early 20th century.[citation needed]

In the 1950s, fashion designers such as Christian Dior and Balenciaga adopted the kaftan as a loose evening gown or robe in their collections.[49] These variations were usually sashless. This style had also began appearing as high fashion.[50]

American hippie fashions of the late 1960s and the 1970s often drew inspiration from ethnic styles, including kaftans for women and men. These styles were brought to the United States by people who journeyed the so-called "hippie trail".[49] African-styled, kaftan-like dashikis were popular, especially among African-Americans. Street styles were appropriated by fashion designers, who marketed lavish kaftans as hostess gowns for casual at-home entertaining. The popularity of Kaftans went high in mass market and their cheap imports.[50] Given the materials and the style of the Kaftan, it has shown to symbolize serving as royalty.[51] The types of forms of dresses and kaftans were among the rich.[52]

Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley, and Barbara Hutton all helped popularize the kaftan in mainstream western fashion.[53] Into the 1970s, Elizabeth Taylor often wore kaftans designed by Thea Porter. In 1975, for her second wedding to Richard Burton she wore a kaftan designed by Gina Fratini.[54]

More recently, in 2011 Jessica Simpson was photographed wearing kaftans during her pregnancy.[48][better source needed] American fashion editor André Leon Talley also wore kaftans designed by Ralph Rucci as one of his signature looks.[55] Beyoncé, Uma Thurman, Susan Sarandon, Kate Moss, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Nicole Richie have all been seen wearing the style.[56][better source needed] Some fashion lines have dedicated collections to the kaftan.

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Adler, Cyrus; Casanowicz, Immanuel M. (1898). Biblical Antiquities: A Description of the Exhibit at the Cotton States International Exposition, Atlanta, 1895. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  2. ^ "The journey of kaftans from Mesopotamia to the rest of the world". HT School. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  3. ^ Mackintosh-Smith, Tim (2019-04-30). Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18235-4.
  4. ^ Cosman, Madeleine Pelner; Jones, Linda Gale (2009). Handbook to Life in the Medieval World, 3-Volume Set. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0907-7.
  5. ^ Bloom, Jonathan; Blair, Sheila S.; Blair, Sheila (2009-05-14). Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. OUP USA. ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1.
  6. ^ ABDYYEVA, Gulruh (2020). "Clothing Culture in the Hun Period and Hun Reflections in the Gokturk Period: Traces on the Clothes of Today’s Central Asian Folks". International Turkish Culture and Art Symposium 29–30 October 2020 ETIMESGUT / Ankara.
  7. ^ Şevket Rado (1987). Âletler ve âdetler. Ak Yayınları. OCLC 214455569.
  8. ^ Türk dünyası kültür atlası: Osmanlı dönemi. 3. 2. Türk Kültürüne Hizmet Vakfı, Turkish Cultural Service Foundation. 1998. ISBN 9789757522119. OCLC 39969202.
  9. ^ Meral Erdirençelebi (13 May 2011). Mustafa Kemal Atatürk'ün Şıklığı. Eğitim Yayinevi. p. 4. ISBN 9786054392384. OCLC 1017992265.
  10. ^ AYHAN, Fatma. "TÜRKLERİN GİYİM KUŞAMINDA KÜRK." 38. ICANAS: 189
  11. ^ Ahmed bin Mahmud (Bursalı) (1977). Erdoğan Merçil (ed.). Selçuk-nâme, Volume 2. Tercüman Gazetesi. OCLC 23555209.
  12. ^ Hadjianastasis, Marios (1 January 2015). "Frontiers of the Ottoman Imagination: Studies in Honour of Rhoads Murphey": 111. doi:10.1163/9789004283510_007. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ An Universal History: From the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time, Volume 4. C. Bathurst. 1759. p. 140. OCLC 21385381.
  14. ^ "Sanjar-Shah was the amir of central Khurasan from 1185 or 1186 until 1187. His short reign was ended by a Khwarezmid invasion and resulted in the takeover of Ni". Archived from the original on 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  15. ^ Selçuk, Issue 3. Selçuklu Araştırmaları Merkezi. 1988. OCLC 23036573.
  16. ^ Journal of Seljuk studies, Volume 3. Selçuklu Tarih ve Medeniyeti Enstitüsü. 1971. OCLC 1787806.
  17. ^ Ferit Edgü, ed. (1983). The Anatolian Civilisations: Seljuk. Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. OCLC 21460383.
  18. ^ Mansel, Philip (1 January 2005). Dressed to Rule: Royal and Court Costume from Louis XIV to Elizabeth II. Yale University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-300-10697-8. OCLC 1000803473.
  19. ^ Tahsin Öz (1950). XIV–XVI centuries. Turkish Press, Broadcasting and Tourist Department. OCLC 7134256.
  20. ^ Grossman, Heather E.; Alicia Walker, eds. (2013). Mechanisms of Exchange: Transmission in Medieval Art and Architecture of the Mediterranean, Ca. 1000–1500. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-24977-6. OCLC 1008267530.
  21. ^ Velvet and Patronage: The Origin and Historical Background of Ottoman and Italian Velvets. S Okumura. 2016.
  22. ^ Harris, Jennifer, ed. (30 September 1993). Textiles: 5000 Years. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-0-8109-3875-5. OCLC 247803587.
  23. ^ BAHAR, T.; N. BAYKASOĞLU (2017). "Embroidery in Turkish culture". Developments in Social Sciences.
  24. ^ Jirousek, Charlotte A., and Sara Catterall (2019). Ottoman Dress and Design in the West: A Visual History of Cultural Exchange. Indiana University Press.
  25. ^ Turnau, Irena (1991). History of Dress in Central and Eastern Europe from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Institute of the History of Material Culture, Polish Academy of Sciences. ISBN 9788385463030. OCLC 1008382522.
  26. ^ Moore, Jennifer Grayer (2019). Patternmaking History and Theory. Bloomsbury Publishing.
  27. ^ Huart, Cl. (24 Apr 2012). "Ḳaftān". doi:10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_3796. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  28. ^ "Rachida Alaoui, de l'origine du caftan". femmesdumaroc (in French). Retrieved 2020-06-04. Il remonte à la fin du XVème siècle, et les premières mentions de ce vêtement porté par les Marocains datent du XVIème siècle." English:"It dates back to the end of the 15th century, and the first mentions of this garment worn by Moroccans date from the 16th century.
  29. ^ "Discover Islamic Art". Virtual Museum. Retrieved 28 Jan 2024.
  30. ^ Cory, Stephen (2016). Reviving the Islamic Caliphate in Early Modern Morocco. Routledge.
  31. ^ Porter, Venetia and Rosser-Owen, Mariam (2012). Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World: Art, Craft and Text. Bloomsbury Publishing.
  32. ^ Marrakech, demeures et jardins secrets. Narjess Ghachem-Benkirane, Philippe Saharoff.
  33. ^ Bulletin de la Société de géographie du Maroc, Volume 3. Société de géographie du Maroc. 1922.
  34. ^ Lamia Balafrej (2015) Islamic iconoclasm, visual communication and the persistence of the image, Interiors, 6:3, 351-366, DOI: 10.1080/20419112.2015.1125659
  35. ^ García-Arenal, Mercedes. 2006. Messianism and puritanical reform: Mahdīs of the Muslim west. Leiden: Brill.
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference Prussin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ Moroccan Textile Embroidery. By Isabelle Denamur.
  38. ^ "Kaftan". museumwnf.org.
  39. ^ Morocco in the era of the Saadi Dynasty|المغرب في عهد السعديين,p 305
  40. ^ "Morocco Tops ICESCO's Heritage Lists with 46 Items | MapNews". www.mapnews.ma. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  41. ^ Cicero, Providence (2009-02-27). "Afrikando Afrikando Dishes up Great Food with a Side of Quirkiness". The Seattle Times.
  42. ^ "CLOTHING xxvii. lexicon of Persian clothing – Encyclopaedia Iranica". Iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  43. ^ Callmer, Johan; Gustin, Ingrid; Roslund, Mats, eds. (2017). Identity Formation and Diversity in the Early Medieval Baltic and Beyond. Communicators and Communication. Vol. 75. Leiden: Brill. pp. 91–102. ISBN 9789004292178. OCLC 951955747.
  44. ^ Hellie, Richard (15 June 1999). The Economy and Material Culture of Russia, 1600–1725. University of Chicago Press. p. 354. ISBN 978-0-226-32649-8.
  45. ^ Wolff, Norma H. "Caftan". LoveToKnow. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  46. ^ "DELET".
  47. ^ Maxwell, Robyn (2003). Textiles of Southeast Asia: Trade, Tradition and Transformation. Periplus Editions. p. 310. ISBN 978-0794601041.
  48. ^ a b Hix, Lisa (17 July 2014). "Caftan Liberation: How an Ancient Fashion Set Modern Women Free". Collectors Weekly. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  49. ^ a b Annette Lynch; Mitchell D. Strauss (30 October 2014). Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-0-7591-2150-8.
  50. ^ a b Helms, Laura (2018-03-02). "#FashionHistory101: How the Kaftan Went Global". Vogue Arabia. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  51. ^ "kaftan | Fashion History Timeline". fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  52. ^ Acquaye, Richard (December 2023). "Reinventing Indigenous West African Fabric Design". Journal of Urban Culture Research. 27 (2): 'pp.262', 'pp.263' – via ResearchGate.
  53. ^ Erika Stalder (1 May 2008). Fashion 101: A Crash Course in Clothing. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-547-94693-1.
  54. ^ Salamone, Gina (2 December 2011). "Elizabeth Taylor's prized possessions—ranging from diamonds to designer gowns—on view at Christie's before going on auction". NY Daily News. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  55. ^ Smith, Ray A. (9 October 2013). "An Emperor of Fashion". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  56. ^ "Caftan Liberation: How an Ancient Fashion Set Modern Women Free". Collectors Weekly.
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