16th-Century Istanbul

Plate or platter. Food was served on a tabak, but each diner didn’t get their own. Instead, everyone ate from a central dish. The closest a 16th-century Turk might have to a personal plate was a piece of flatbread.

Sahan

A dish used to both cook and serve food. It could be lidded or lidless. The sahan was one of the basic pieces that every household would have.

Tas

A shallow cup or small bowl used for drinking.

Kaftan

The full-length robe worn by both men and women as a formal outer layer. Because the long skirts implied that the wearer didn’t do physical labor, men who wore kaftans were usually high-ranking, and/or had jobs with a certain gentlemanly aura. There are exceptions–some janissaries wore kaftans–but even those…

Lining

Garments could be fully lined, half-lined to the hip, or unlined, and the lining could be made of silk, cotton, or the ultimate in luxury, fur. There’s no discernible pattern to which garments were fully lined, half-lined, or unlined. (Or rather, we don’t know enough about the use of each…