Textile; woven silk, 1600c, TurkishFor the Ottomans it was necessary to retain the support of the Sunni majority among their subjects, and this may explain why the court style they developed is devoid of elements that would have been unacceptable to them, specifically the absence of figural motifs. This woven silk bears an abstract composition of undulating bands which create a framework for floral motifs in the ogival spaces between. The contrast with the court style of their bitter rivals the Safavids is striking, as seen for example in the Safavid velvet with young men among cypress trees (T.226–1923).Silk with ogival lattice. Lampas textile of silk and metal threads.