Fall-Front Cabinet with the Monogram of Sultan Abdulhamid II

The top of this cabinet features an elaborate calligraphic rendition of the name of the Ottoman sultan Abdulhamid II. Such monograms are called tughras, and they were used to authenticate imperial documents beginning in the early Ottoman period. By the nineteenth century, however, tughras had become visual expressions of Ottoman imperial identity—shown not only on paper and coins, but also on architectural monuments and furniture.