Lambert de Vos (fl 1563 - 1574) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman from Mechelen who travelled to Constantinople to work for the diplomatic mission of the Habsburg Empire. Here he made a number of drawings of the various local costumes and some of the architectural sights. His drawings serve as an important source of information on the dress of people living in the Turkish empire and the architecture of Constantinople during his residence. Life Very little is known about the life of de Vos. He was likely born in Mechelen where he was first admitted to the local Guild of St. Luke in the year 1563. As it was common to become a master at the age of 25, he was likely born around 1538. In 1572 he travelled to Constantinople where he was active in the circle of diplomats and envoys of the Habsburg Empire. It is recorded that he made in 1574 a Costume Book for Karel Rijm, Emperor Maximilian II's ambassador to the Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman Empire. Not much is known about the remainder of the life and work of the artist. He was recorded again as a master in the Mechelen Guild of St. Luke in the year 1573. The Costume Book of 1574 The Costume Book of 1574 is in the manuscript collection (ms. Or. 9 (1574)) of the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Bremen (State and University Library of Bremen) in Germany. The book comprises 124 sheets, 103 of which are numbered. A Genoese paper was used, which was smoothed in an oriental manner, giving it a silky sheen. Four sections can be distinguished in the work: the Sultan and his courtiers, Ottoman men and clergy, Ottoman women and ethnic and religious minorities. Lambert de Vos has sketched the fashion and social hierarchy among the Ottomans in vivid colours. The Costume Book of 1574 is usually associated with two illustrations: the portrait of Sultan Selim II and a long bridal train drawn over several leaves. The first 50 pages portray the sultan's ceremonial procession with 95 men some on horseback, including Sultan Selim II. This was a ritual procession that wound its way through the streets of Constantinople and represented the Empire's hierarchy. Under Selim II's predecessor, Suleiman the Magnificent, this procession had become a grand pageant that represented the splendor of the Empire at its zenith, as shown in