Figure 2.—Dress of Sigmund von Herberstein for the second embassy to Moscow, 1526. He wears a wide-sleeved gown with the collar and lining made of fine sables. His fur-lined high cap is of white felt, its brim distinguished by a band of red cloth, a mark of nobility. From Gratae Posteritati, 1560. (Courtesy of British Museum, London.)
The first person to have such pictures printed was Sigmund von Herberstein, who deserves detailed consideration.[8] In his diplomatic career, which extended over 30 years, Sigmund von Herberstein served three Emperors—Maximilian I, Charles V, and Ferdinand I. He was a student of Russian history and an outstanding linguist, who, having learned Wendish as a boy, found no difficulty with the Polish and Russian languages. When, in his old age, he printed his memoirs, he doubtlessly aimed at giving information on how an ambassador should conduct himself and to this end included illustrations of what he actually had worn, which in many copies of the memoirs are carefully colored by hand.[9] Concerning his journey in 1517 ([fig. 1]), he states that “In these robes I was sent on the embassy to Sigismund King of Poland,” no doubt the fashion for the formal dress of an envoy. On his first embassy to the Grand Duke of Moscow in 1517 he was presented with a Russian fur-lined robe, but on his second embassy in 1526, he received a greater distinction (fig. 2): “Having been sent a second time by the Emperor Ferdinand then Archduke to Moscow, the Grand Duke bestowed upon me these robes.” This dress was far more sumptuous than the formal black velvet gown which he normally wore for embassies to the Spanish and other courts.
Figure 3.—Dress of Sigmund von Herberstein for an embassy to the Sultan, 1541. The short gown (Schaube) of Italian brocade figured with black and gold has wide shoulders and padded upper sleeves. The collar, lining, and foresleeves are of similar fabric but with a dark violet ground for contrast. From Gratae Posteritati, 1560. (Courtesy of British Museum, London.)
By 1541 there was a change in fashion (fig. 3). Von Herberstein wrote: “We two orators were sent in this dress to the Turkish Emperor,” and it was in this dress that von Herberstein, suffering perhaps from arthritis, complained of having great difficulty
in bowing low enough to kiss the hand of the seated Sultan. The imperial fashion of breeches and hose might have seemed indelicate to Suleiman “the Magnificant,” who gave the ambassadors other robes (fig. 4): “The Emperor of the Turks presented us also with these robes.” The long-gowned costume shown here should have been completed by a turban, but von Herberstein evidently would not allow himself to be depicted in this.
Figure 4.—Sigmund von Herberstein in robes presented to ambassadors by the Sultan, 1541. The Turkish gown of yellow silk figured with black, with some of the medallions outlined in blue, has long sleeves that hide the hands. The inner robe is of red silk figured with yellow and gathered with a blue sash. From Gratae Posteritati, 1560. (Courtesy of British Museum, London.)