Odalisque

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Odalisque with a slave by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, painted in 1840

An odalisque was a virgin female slave, who could rise in status to being a concubine or a wife in Ottoman Seraglios, but most of whom tended to the harem of the Turkish sultan.

The word appears in a French form, and originates from the Turkish odalık, meaning "chambermaid", from oda, "chamber" or "room". Some writers spell the word as, odahlic, odalisk, and odaliq.

An odalisque was not a concubine of the harem, but it was possible that she could become one. Odalisques were ranked at the bottom of the social stratification of a harem, serving not the sultan, but rather, his concubines and wives as personal chambermaids. Odalisques were usually slaves given as gifts to the sultan, although some Georgian and Caucasian families urged their daughters to enter a harem as an odalisque, hoping that they might become a palace concubine, favored slave, or wife of the sultan.

Generally, an odalisque was never seen by the sultan, but instead remained under the direct supervision of the Valide sultan. If an odalisque was of extraordinary beauty or had exceptional talents in dancing or singing, she would be trained as a possible concubine. If selected, an odalisque trained as a concubine would serve the sultan sexually, and only after such sexual contact would she change in status, becoming thenceforth, a concubine. In the Ottoman Empire, concubines encountered the sultan only once, unless being especially skilled in dance, singing, or the sexual arts, and thus gaining his attention. If a concubine's contact with the sultan resulted in the birth of a son, she would become one of his wives.

Odalisque painted by Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1874)

In popular use, the word odalisque also may refer, rather inappropriately given the virgin nature of these slaves, to a mistress, concubine, or paramour of a wealthy man.

In Western culture during the 19th century, odalisques became common fantasy figures in the artistic movement known as Orientalism, being featured in many erotic paintings from that era.

A song by The Decemberists speaks of the odalisques (perhaps figuratively) with some fairly provocative lyrics: "Lay your belly under mine/Naked under me, under me/Such a filthy dimming shine/The way you kick and scream, kick and scream"