The Complete Tour: ­Splendors Of The Ottoman Sultans

A tendency toward purple prose in the overlaid narration and a catalog approach to the subject hurt this overview of a massive exhibit of some 270 objects from Topkapi Palace, where the sultans ruled the far-flung Ottoman Empire from the late Renaissance through the early years of our own century. As statesmen, military commanders, and patrons of the arts, sultans such as Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566) kept pretty busy with all the scheming, bloodletting, quiet contemplation of the Koran, and whatnot. Fortunately, they had more jewels on hand than a Liberace impersonators gala, and that's what The Complete Tour offers most: more rubies, emeralds, and pearls than you can shake a bejeweled stick at. Swords, crowns, dinner ware, books (with inlaid mother-of-pearl covers), no item seemed to be too functional to avoid carrying at least a quarter million's worth of exotic and expensive stones, if it was going to get near the sultan. There are some wonderful sights here: a pair of ornate tents, Sulieman's jewel-encrusted and exquisitely carved sword, a crumbling 600-year-old helmet, a golden cradle for baby princes, and the acclaimed Topkapi dagger. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and, frankly a lot of the exhibit looked a little gaudy to me. Those interested in the crown jewels, so to speak, will overlook the monotony of one jewel-encrusted umpty-million dollar gewgaw after another, but this is more like a souvenir tape for those who saw the exhibit--and a fairly high priced one at that, considering the promotional advertisements which lead off the program. An optional purchase. (Available from: RK Media, P.O. Box 2512, Buffalo, NY 14240-2512; (519) 622-5285.)