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-- Brigitte Bardot

(Krakow, Poland)

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The Ottoman treasures in the Wawel Castle

FIRST CAME EIGHT WAGONS FULL OF DIVERSELY PATTERNED SILK CARPETS SHOT THROUGH WITH GOLD THREAD. BEHIND THEM, ELEVEN WAGONS CARRIED A NINE-PART TENT SUPPORTED ON A SINGLE POLE, RICHLY INTERWOVEN WITH GOLD THREAD AND GLIMMERING IN MYRIAD COLORS LIKE A CHAMELEON, DELIBERATELY TURNED INSIDE-OUT.

Entry of the Ottoman embassy into Vienna in 1665, Evliya Çelebi's BOOK OF TRAVELS

Following the Polish-Ottoman War of 1672-1676 and the famous Battle of Vienna in 1683, many Turkish spoils of war and goods appeared in Poland. Some of these items have survived to this day and can be seen at Wawel Castle in Cracow.

In the letter to his wife Maria Kazimiera in 13.09.1683 King John III Sobieski wrote:

In the vizier’s tents on 13th September [l683], in the night.

The only solace of my heart and soul, the loveliest and most beloved Marysieńku!

God Our Lord blessed for eternity has granted a victory and glory to our nation the like of which was never heard of in centuries past. All the cannons, all the camp, uncounted riches have fallen into our hands. The enemy, having left [countless] corpses in the approaches, the fields and the camp, is running away in confusion. Only today are our men beginning to seize the camels, the mules, the cattle, the sheep which were kept to the side, and they are herding Turks in front of them, driving them here; others, especially des renégats, on good horses and beautifully clothed are running away from them to us here. This is an unheard-of event, so much that today there was already panic among the commoners in the city and here in our camp, because everyone understood, and could not be persuaded otherwise, that the enemy would come back. The powder alone and ammunition that they abandoned are [worth] more than a million. Last night I have also seen a thing that I have always wished to see. In a few places our camp servants set the powder on fire, which truly looked like Judgement Day and yet harmed no person; this showed how clouds are formed in the sky. But it is a great misfortune, because surely damage worth a million has been done.

The vizier so ran away from it all that he took but one horse and one robe. I became his successor, because a large part of all his splendid equipment fell to me; and this through this happenstance that, [as I was] among the very first in the camp and following closely upon the vizier himself, one of his servants betrayed him and showed [me] his tents, which are as big as Warsaw or Lvov inside their walls. I have all the vizier’s standards that were borne before him; also the Mohammedan war banner which his emperor gave him and which I have already dispatched to Rome to the Holy Father, taken today by Talenty with the mail. The tents, the carts, all have fallen to me, et mille d’autres galanteries fort jolies et fort riches, mais fort riches, although I have not yet viewed many of those things. [Il] n’y a point de comparaison avec ceux de Chocim. A few quivers alone, set with rubies and sapphires, are worth a few thousand gold. Thus you will not tell me, my soul, as Tatar wives tell their husbands when those return without booty, that “you are no brave man to come back empty-handed”, for the man who takes loot must needs be at the head of attack. I got the vizier’s horse with the entire tack, too; he was hotly pursued himself, but he saved his head. His kihaia, that is, the first man after him, was killed, and many pashas, too. Our men have a glut of golden sabres and other military equipment. The night prevented us from taking the last [pickings] and also the fact that they valiantly defended themselves while escaping et font la plus belle retirade du monde. They left their janissaries in the approaches, and those were killed during the night; because such was the arrogance and pride of those men that when some were fighting us in the field, others were trying to storm the city; and they had the means to do so.

translated by Klaudyna Michałowicz

Oval, two-pole tent, Turkey, 17th century, cotton, linen, silk, satin, tanned leather, gilded leather; appliqué

It comes from the collection of King John III Sobieski's trophies from the Vienna campaign of 1683. Taken from Warsaw to Dresden in 1729 by King Augustus II the Strong (1697-1733). Purchased at an auction of the Wettin dynasty's property, it was donated to Wawel Castle in 1933.

Composed of two fences and a gable roof, it is distinguished by its rarely seen blue background color (most Turkish tents were made of red cotton). The applied decoration is concentrated in the interior. The walls (fences) are decorated with a row of twenty-four arcades, as in a palace cloister, where Blossoming trees in garden vases. In the fields beneath the arches are cartouches with wishes for prosperity: "May there be happiness," "May there be blessing." Inscriptions, carved in Arabic script from pieces of gilded leather, gleam against silk backgrounds. Analogous arcades (twelve in each slope) are visible in the roof's soffit, corresponding to the wall divisions.

Due to its impressive size and lavish decoration, this unique monument, one of the masterpieces of Ottoman tentmaking, is considered a top-class structure intended for the superiors of the Turkish army. They served as meeting rooms ("staff rooms") or commanders' residences. The heavily damaged outer layer, impregnated with copper green, was replaced during the tent's conservation (1991-1999) with a modern equivalent of this fabric.

Rectangular Tent, Turkey, 17th century, cotton, linen, satin, leather; appliqué

It belonged to a group of tents taken from Poland to Dresden in 1729 by Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland (1697-1733). Purchased after 1924 from the collection of the Wettin dynasty, it was donated to Wawel Castle in 1933.

It consists of two fences and a gable roof, covered internally with applied architectural decoration. Each fence is divided by flattened Moorish arches into five arcades, two of which have windows covered with mesh and shutters. The interior of the arcades is decorated with four medallions of various sizes and shapes.

The roof ornamentation corresponds to the wall divisions – a wide band of rosettes in the sky, and below that a frieze of ten elongated panels with blue and yellow backgrounds filled with floral vases. The absence of pole sockets indicates that the entire structure could have been erected using guy ropes attached to poles driven externally. Vertical poles sewn into the fences bordering the arcades also facilitate assembly. The original pegs and rope loops used to connect the edges of the roof and the fences have been preserved.

These rectangular tents, of various sizes, could have served as sleeping quarters for soldiers, dining rooms, baths, kitchens, and even stables. This one was likely intended for mid-ranking officers of the Turkish army.

Inscription-type banner, Turkey, Istanbul (?), 1st half of the 17th century, silk, gilded silver thread; brocaded

Zulfiqar-type banner, Turkey, Istanbul or Baghdad (?), 1st half of the 17th century, silk grosgrain, silk threads, and gilded silver; brocaded

Zulfiqar-type banner, Turkey, Baghdad (?), 2nd half of the 17th century, silk grosgrain, silk thread, silver and silver gilded; brocade

Inscription-type banner was one of the most important battle banners captured in the Battle of Vienna on 12.09.1683. This rank was given to the banner by the very fact that it was donated by John III Sobieski on December 24 of that year to Wawel Cathedral, the main church of the kingdom (the king sent a twin Turkish banner to Rome to Pope Innocent XI).

The banner remained in the cathedral treasury until 1803, when it was given to Izabela Czartoryska for the Temple of the Sibyl, a museum of national memorabilia then being established in Puławy. After the November Uprising, between 1831 and 1848, the banner was hidden in a church in Włostowice, from where the Russians took it to St. Petersburg. Following the Treaty of Riga (1921), which ended the Polish-Soviet War, the banner was reclaimed and awarded to Wawel Castle in 1926. It underwent another evacuation in 1939. It returned from Canada (1961) with the second batch of "Wawel treasures" and has been kept in the banner pantheon at the Oriental Art exhibition since 1964.

The banner's name comes from the type of decoration that dominates the overall composition. The dark red central field is covered with Arabic inscriptions – the twice-repeated creed of Islam (sāhāda): "There is no deity without Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet." In addition to this inscription, it features the beginning of the 48th chapter of the Quran: "Victory," as well as medallions bearing the names of Allah, Muhammad, and two caliphs: Abu Bakr and Omar.

The Zulfiqar-type banner was captured on 12.09.1683 near Vienna by the troops of Marcin Zamoyski (1637-1689), Voivode of Lublin and a proven comrade-in-arms of King John III Sobieski. Until 1939, as the property of the Zamoyski Estate, it was hung in the library of the Blue Palace in Warsaw. Hidden during World War II in the Czartoryski Princes' Museum in Krakow, it was transferred to Wawel Castle in 1956 and purchased from the Zamoyski family in 1995.

The dark red cornflower blue (the banner's fabric) with a triangular tip is framed by a border of three-colored horizontal stripes: yellow, green, and blue. A wide inscription frieze separates the section near the shaft, which features the so-called seal of Solomon – two closed moons covered with writing and a six-pointed star. In the central field is Zulfiqar's double-bladed sword surrounded by seven circular medallions with quotations from the Quran. The inscriptions are dominated by fragments of Chapter 48: Victory, alongside the names of Muhammad and Ali, invocations to Allah, and wishes for good luck. The most colorful example in the group of Turkish banners gathered at Wawel Castle, it is also one of the most impressive in the world's collections. Technical considerations—a different type of metal thread, as well as the fact that Ali's name is given priority in the hierarchy of inscriptions—may indicate that the work was created outside the capital of the empire, perhaps in Baghdad.

The other Zulfiqar-type banner was captured on 12.09.1683 near Vienna by Atanazy Walenty Miączyński (1639-1723), an outstanding commander, colonel of the Crown forces, and personal friend of King John III. This valuable memento remained in the collection of the Miączyński-Dzieduszycki family in Lviv until 1934, when it became the property of the State Treasury and, by decision of the authorities, was transferred to Wawel Castle. Here, the banner underwent conservation and was exhibited as early as 1935. In 1939, it was evacuated to Canada with the transport of the "Wawel Treasures," from where it returned in 1961. Since 1964, it has been part of the permanent exhibition "Oriental Art."

The crimson blue fabric (the banner's fabric) is surrounded by a narrow green border. The section near the staff contains three oval medallions with inscriptions, framed by vases tilted toward the center. The main field depicts Zulfiqar, a double-bladed sword, recreated with metal threads on a light green background. Surrounding it are medallions bearing the names of Allah, Muhammad, and the first four caliphs: Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman, and Ali, as well as fragments from the Quran. Quotes from this book also appear on Zulfiqar's blades and cover the rosette in the center of the sword.

The banner is one of the best-preserved artifacts of its kind in collections worldwide. The precision of the motifs and calligraphy makes it a model for research and the scholarly interpretation of Turkish battle symbols.

Blade of the so-called Kara Mustafa saber, Persia (?), 17th century, steel, gold, lead; forged, inlay

Made of Damascus steel, slightly curved, with a double-edged quill marked by a small offset. At the back are elongated medallions with gold-encrusted inscriptions taken from the Quran (Sura II, verse 255, the so-called Verse of the Throne), partially illegible. Furthermore, on both sides of the blade are pointed medallions with the apostrophe: "O Muhammad! O Allah! O Ali." A distinctive feature are three slits running along the spine, containing movable lead balls. After being broken nearly halfway along its length, the blade was repaired by overlapping rivets. The tradition linking the weapon with Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa and his vanquisher, the Polish monarch, is attested by an inscription engraved on the spine: "After the Liberation of Vienna by John III, Dedicated to God the Mother of God in Loretto, R.P. MDCLXXXVII." It is known that the king had a special devotion to the statue of the Virgin Mary venerated in Loretto. The first mention of it dates back to the Napoleonic era, when the Polish Legions operated in Italy. Sources confirm the acquisition of a Turkish banner by their commander, General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski (today in the collections of Wawel Royal Castle). It is also known that on June 17, 1798, he received Sobieski's saber on Capitol Hill in Rome, or rather, the blade itself, as Pope Pius VI had previously ordered the magnificent mount, adorned with precious stones, to be sold for cash. Dąbrowski, through General Karol Kniaziewicz, sent it to Tadeusz Kościuszko in Paris. After receiving the memento on October 17, 1799, the recipient thanked him for it in a short letter dated the following day. Kościuszko then gave the national relic to Anna Jadwiga Sapieha, née Zamoyska, intended for her son Leon. For the following years, the blade was a decoration of the Sapieha family collection in Krasiczyn, in the local castle, it was exhibited along with other militaria in the Noble Tower. Most likely, it was only then that the tradition of the weapon's connection with John III Sobieski was enriched by attributing it to the commander of the Turks besieging Vienna. It was presented in Lviv in 1861 and 1894 ("antiquity" exhibitions), and above all in Kraków at the great jubilee exhibitions commemorating the Viennese triumph in 1883 and 1933. In 1939, it was moved to the bishop's palace in Kraków; Confiscated by the communist authorities, it found its way into the Wawel collection in 1954, eventually being added to it as a gift from Michał Sapieha on July 22, 1998.

many more artifacts to see there, check it out when you're in Cracow!

Descriptions taken from The treasures of the Orient, printed by Wawel Castle, translated by me (official English version is available, I don't have it though)

All photos are mine

#from my wawel trip two weeks ago #amarena moments #amarena talks #my photos #history #ottoman history #polish history #wawel #wawel castle #xvii century #cracow