Ottoman Entari

Ottoman court long open-front kaftan

The entari is the ankle-length open-front robe of Ottoman court and aristocratic dress, a principal form within the kaftan family that defined Ottoman noble wear from the 14th to 19th centuries. Crafted from silk, velvet, and brocade embroidered with Ottoman floral motifs — pomegranate, tulip, rose, carnation — in gold and silver thread, the grandest examples were worn by the Sultan and high officials. Entaris were layered: a cotton gömlek shirt and salvar trousers were covered first by an under-entari, then a more elaborate over-entari (üst entari), then sometimes a fur-lined or brocaded outer kaftan. A jeweled ushak belt or cashmere sash girded the waist; a turban crowned the head. The entari collection of Suleiman the Magnificent, preserved at Topkapı Palace, stands as a pinnacle of world textile art.