Turkish delights

‘The Terrible Turk’ was a threat made by mothers to recalcitrant children in the time of the Mongols, while for centuries in the Caucasus women sang a very different refrain to their daughters: ‘Live among diamonds and splendour as the wife of the Sultan.’ No longer the enemy at the gates, the Turks are here, and have set up camp at the Royal Academy in a blockbuster show. Joining the EU is their latest campaign, and they have pulled out all the stops to show us who they are. This exhibition introduces the Turks from their own perspective, and offers more than simply an array of glittering objects and gleaming silks, though these are also here in abundance.

The story begins in the vast expanse of the Central Asian Steppes. Turkic tribes — Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, etc. — had already been moving westwards for 1,000 years before the exhibition’s arbitrary starting point of AD600, but, never mind, 1,000 years is a good span for a superb exhibition, and brings us to the high point of Ottoman art and culture.