odalisque

Definition

A female attendant or concubine in a sultan's household in the Ottoman Empire, depicted in European art and literature as exotic and sensual. The term refers to both the historical role and its romanticized artistic representation.

Example Usage

The museum's collection included several 18th-century paintings featuring an odalisque draped in luxurious silks.

Origin

From Turkish odalık, derived from oda (room), originally meaning a chambermaid in the imperial palace.

Fun Fact

French Orientalist painters, particularly Ingres and Delacroix, made the odalisque a staple of European salon painting despite never visiting Ottoman harems.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

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