Lot 980 Dα

The kontusz was a kind of robe of Turkish origin used by the Polish aristocracy in the 17th and 18th century as a way of differentiating their clothing from the fashions worn in the west. The robe was fastened at the hip with an elegantly draped sash which was worn with the plain reverse side showing on weekdays and the sumptuously decorated front showing on Sundays. Kontusz belts were initially imported from abroad. The majority of the first manufactories opened in Poland in the 17th century were founded by Persian migrants who introduced motifs inspired by Safavid silks. By the 18th century, weaving studios specialised in the production of kontusz sashes existed throughout Poland, from Gdansk to Krak?, but the main centres of production were located in the Masovian province and in Slutsk in Belarus.