Ottoman purse, retrieved from the Grand Vizier after the siege of Vienna in 1683.
Courtesy Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, acc. no. BK-1960-174.
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam houses a small Ottoman purse (20 x 9 cm) that appears to have belonged, according to a letter that was inside the purse, to the grand vizier [Kara Mustafa] of the Ottoman Empire during the siege of Vienna in 1683. The purse is made of red satin and decorated with floral motifs embroidered with gold and silver thread.
The text in the letter reads: deeze Beurs is gevonden in den Tente van den Groot Vizir wanneer hy Wenen belegerde en door de Prince Eugenius van Saxen geslagen wierd. ('this purse has been found in the tent of the Grand Vizier when he laid siege to Vienna and was defeated by Prince Eugenius of Saxony' [would this be Prince Eugene of Savoy?]).
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam online catalogue (retrieved 13 August 2016).
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