Turquerie (
anglicized as "Turkery"), "Turquoiserie" was the
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
fashion in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
from the 16th to 18th centuries for imitating aspects of
Ottoman art and culture. Many different Western European countries were fascinated by the exotic and relatively unknown culture of the Ottoman ruling class, which was the center of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. This fashionable phenomenon became more popular through trading routes and increased diplomatic relationships between the Ottomans and the European nations, exemplified by the
Franco-Ottoman alliance in 1715. Ambassadors and traders often returned home with tales of exotic places and souvenirs of their adventures.
The movement was often reflected in the art of the period. Music, paintings, architecture, and artifacts were frequently inspired by the Ottoman styles and methods. Paintings in particular portrayed the Ottomans with bright colours and sharp contrasts, suggesting their interesting peculiarity and exotic nature.
History of the movement

In the wake of the
Age of Exploration, roughly between the 15th and 18th centuries, there was an explosion in the number of commodities and availability of products. People were using newly created cartography and using these maps to explore the world on paper. There was an accumulation of more objects and a desire for more acquisitions. Coupling this, there was the value of
exoticism, valuing things that came from a great distance. Europeans and Ottomans alike were developing a consciousness of themselves in relation to the broader world.
At the same time the Ottomans were slowly ceasing to be regarded as a serious military threat to Western Europe, despite their continuing occupation of the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, and campaigns such as that ended by the
Battle of Vienna as late as 1683.

New patterns of consumption were arising, especially with trading ships being able to navigate around Africa. Commodities that were once expensive were becoming more affordable. Products often define people in terms of gender, age, and availability of access. This notion of social definition outlines the main theme of the explosion of commodities from 16th century and onwards. The exchange system had to do precisely with accessibility and availability of commodities on a grand scale.
It is important to note that this was not just a European phenomenon. The Europeans were not the only people who developed a sensibility of how consuming different things could define their relationships domestically and abroad. In this context, there was a broader view of consumption and one's place within the world. A person would consume in order to show off their financial position and their social location.
Coffee

When
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
was first imported to Europe, locals looked to its place of origin to better understand the new phenomenon. Ottoman scholars—who had been studying the plant for centuries and were producing relevant, new sources—became the main reference for
Edward Pococke and
Antoine Galland’s written works on coffee. Academia, such as this, was a key component within coffeehouse culture. The history of coffee in Europe as a product was inextricably linked to this culture. It was “an institution and a set of customs…transferred from one region to another,” in this case from the Ottoman Empire to western Europe. The introduction of coffee to the European scene was neither new nor just a common consumable good; it was a direct result of “Ottoman mediation.”
Visiting elites from high-class European circles were frequently exposed to the drink through Ottoman elites and diplomacy, complete with
porcelain,
embroidered napkins, and special etiquette. Furthermore, visiting Ottoman military or diplomatic officials would serve coffee in similar ways within European cities. Adhering to strict instructions, sequences, and measures, good coffee had to be prepared with a precision that the Ottomans had perfected, a skillset that Europeans had yet to learn to apply to their version of the bitter, crude drink.
European perspective

Europeans developed an appetite for exoticism as greater emphasis was put on empire building and colonization in other nations. There was a growing fashion for Turkish styles in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Europeans did not regard Ottomans as rivals that they had to contend with and imitate militarily, politically, or diplomatically, but rather as an exotic foreign people possessing quaint and strange fashions that could be consumed. Consuming these exotic fashions would show one's elite place in society as well as display their open-mindedness and interest in the world. These "obsessions" with Turkish aesthetics were in part brought on by the presence of Europeans in the Ottoman Court and the acts of bringing back their products to Europe. The increased mercantile relationships between the Turkish people and the Europeans aided this process; the continuation of these trading systems helped to spread new fashions quickly in Europe.
Decorations and patterns
Brightly colored Turkish styles of decoration were used on many types of objects, including timepieces. Many of those imported had the hours and religious names in Arabic characters. A person who owned one of these timepieces was one with an increased social status.
The Turkish grandeur portrayed by the sultans was attractive to Europeans.
Agostino Veneziano made a portrait of
Suleyman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1520. He was known as the “grand Turk” and constantly disrupted European balance. The image portrays the sultan as a gentle, yet barbaric person. He was most known for executing the wishes of the sultana,
Roxelana, who wanted their children murdered to secure the throne for one of their sons.

Fabrics were often bright, rich, and embroidered, as depicted in the painting, ''Himan de la Grande Mosquee'' by
Joseph-Marie Vien in 1748. In the context of turquerie, Turkish textiles were also a luxury in the elitist European homes. They often
had velvet grounds with stylized floral motifs. They were often woven in Asia Minor for the European market or, more commonly, as Venetian, under Turkish influence. Italian-styled textiles were often woven by the Ottoman Turks for the Venetians because of their cheap labour and continued business relationships.
Portraits: European and American

Social position was something very important in the 18th century so things like dress, posture, and props were carefully selected in order to communicate one's status. This need to express status mixed with a new interest for Turkish style allowed for Turkish dress and decorations to become very important props. This included wearing loose, flowing gowns belted with ornate bands of embroidered cloth and ermine-trimmed robes with tasseled turbans. Women even abandoned their corsets and attached strings of pearls to their hair for much more freeing material.
The loose clothing and the unorthodox styles added to the lewd perceptions of the Ottomans.
This interest was something that motivated the creation of many portraits were Turkish people were often depicted as exotic, and it became rare to see portraits where they were painted without wearing their traditional cultural clothing. Writing also contributed to the visual aspect of Turkish cultural exchange and perhaps the most influential transformation into the turquerie vogue in Europe was done by
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Montagu went to Turkey in 1717 when her husband was posted as ambassador there. Her collected letters describing Turkish fashion were widely distributed in manuscript form in her social circle and were then printed for the public upon her death in 1762. Her letters and descriptions helped shape how Europeans interpreted the Turkish fashion and how to dress. This phenomenon eventually found its way across the Atlantic and in colonial America, where Montagu's letters were also published.
Music
The music in operas that utilized the notion of turquerie was not seriously influenced by Turkish music. Composers in the 18th century were not interested in
ethnomusicology, to adopt the style of sound of a particular country or area.
The European audiences were not yet ready to accept the unappealing and what they thought of as primitive musical style of the Turkish people. Traditional Turkish music included wavering pitches, microtones, arabesques, different scale systems, and non-Western rhythmic patterns. Europeans thought of this type of music, as
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once said, "offensive to the ears."
Having short spurts of it in the operas were common, but just to add comedic affect.
In music,
Orientalism
In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
may be applied to styles occurring in different periods, such as the ''
alla turca
The Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 / 300i, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a piano sonata in three movements.
The sonata was published by Artaria in 1784, alongside Nos. 10 and 12 (K. 330 and K. 332).
The third movement of this so ...
'', used by multiple composers including
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
and
Beethoven.
[Beard and Gloag 2005, 129]
Opera

European opera was influenced heavily by the idea of turquerie.
Mehmed the Conqueror (1432–1481), one of the most prominent sultans of the Ottoman Empire, had many operas written about him. His
conquest of Constantinople in 1453 was the basis of the German opera ''Mahumeth II'', composed by
Reinhard Keiser in 1693.
In 1820,
Gioachino Rossini composed ''
Maometto II'', which is set during the
Siege of Negroponte (1470)
The siege of Negroponte was fought between the forces of the Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Mehmed II in person, and the garrison of the Venetian colony of Negroponte ( Chalcis), the capital of the Venetian possession of Euboea in Central Greec ...
by the forces of the Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Mehmed II.
Moreover, there were many operas based on the ongoing conflicts between
Timur and
Beyazid I, including ''
Tamerlano'' by
George Handel. These stories of perseverance and passion appealed to many Europeans and therefore gained popularity. One of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
’s most important opera genres was ''
tragédie en musique'', depicted by ''
Scanderberg'', with music by
François Rebel
François Rebel (19 June 17017 November 1775) was a French composer of the Baroque era. Born in Paris, the son of the leading composer Jean-Féry Rebel, he was a child prodigy who became a violinist in the orchestra of the Paris Opera at the age of ...
and
Francois Francoeur, set to a libretto by
Antoine Houdar de la Motte in 1735.
This opera was visually one of the most elaborate of the Turkish operas, with detailed scenic designs for mosques and seraglio courts. Many exotic characters were displayed as well.
Operas using themes from turquerie were in the usual European languages but tried to imitate the Turkish culture and customs. It offered a world of fantasy, splendor, and adventure that was unattainable by the average person.
Audiences would be fascinated with the Turkish and Ottoman institutions depicted. The stories and implications as well as the extravagant costumes and elaborate staging appealed to the people. The Europeans craved reality in their depiction of the Turkish peoples. During performances, females would often be in the latest fashion, where local colour was suggested by foreign attire or numerous ornaments. The males tended to wear more authentic Turkish dress than the female, including a turban, sash, long caftan, and binding with rich material, since authentic Turkish female dress was often restrictive and plain.
See also
*
Bloomers
*
Harem pants
*
Hammam
*
Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting
*
Ottoman clothing
*
Slim-fit pants
*
Pajamas
Pajamas ( US) or pyjamas (Commonwealth) (), sometimes colloquially shortened to PJs, jammies, jam-jams, or in South Asia night suits, are several related types of clothing worn as nightwear or while lounging or performing remote work from hom ...
*
Chapan
*
Turkish crescent
*
Chinoiserie
*
Seraglio
*
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
*
Turkophilia
A Turkophile or Turcophile, ( tr, Türksever) is a person who has a strong positive predisposition or sympathy toward the government, culture, history, or people of Turkey. This could include Turkey itself and its history, the Turkish language, Tur ...
*
Turkeywork
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*Meyer, Eve R. "Turquerie and Eighteenth-Century Music." ''Eighteenth-Century Studies'', Vol. 7, No. 4. (Summer, 1974), pp. 474–488.
* Katie Campbell, 'Turquerie, an Orientalist fantasy' in Cassone: The International Online Magazine of Art and Art Books, October 2014 http://www.cassone-art.com/magazine/article/2014/10/turquerie-an-orientalist-fantasy/?psrc=architecture-and-design
External links
Picture of turquerie artwork by Jean LurçatWorking definition of turquerie
{{authority control
European culture
Ottoman culture
Orientalism by type