Monumental Kaftans at the MNAC

In the 16th-17th century kaftans became the official vestments of the Wallachian and Moldovian princes.

Wallachian princes and boyars were famous for their richly decorated state costumes made of brocades sewn with silver-gilt thread which turned them into works of art.

These are two examples of kaftans from the 16th century from the collection of the Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României (MNAC – National Museum of Art of Romania): the first one in a brocaded blue velvet with metal buttons and characterised by a monumental shape, came from a Venetian workshop.

In 1514 Neagoe Basarab donated to the Bistriţa Monastery his kaftan that was turned into the cover for the St Gregory of Decapolis reliquary. The garment was completely restored to its original state in the museum's textile workshop.

The second one – specific for the Romanian principalities in the 16th-17th century – comes from the Borsa workshop and it's instead a lady's robe in silver-gilt and silk thread.

My research trip to Romania was made possible through a journalistic grant from the Institutul Cultural Român (ICR – Romanian Cultural Institute), Bucharest.

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