Koran

1500 civarı

Sabancı Üniversitesi Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi (Emirgan, İstanbul, Türkiye)

The Koran begins with a double frontispiece (ff. 1r-2v) with a composition of a medallion and cornerpieces. These are followed by the Fatiha and Bakara surahs on an illuminated double spread (ff. 2r-3v). The surah headings are written in gold on a sized ground or white on a gold ground in sülüs script inside a cartouche. The fields and corners of the cartouches are decorated with small flowers, mainly in orange, leaves and buds on scrolling branches, or naive flowers and branches. Elaborate illumination surrounds the text of the Nas surah (f. 330r), whose facing page (ff. 331v) consists of an illuminated panel decorated in a naive style. The use of orange and grass green, the naive style of the flower, and the compositions of the frontispieces, illuminated panel and illuminated double spread are features typical of high quality 15th century Ottoman manuscripts produced for royal patrons. There are examples of Ottoman period Korans dating from the period 1440-1517, in which the illumination on the final double spread is in the form of a panel with the writing—the last surah or colophon—in the centre. This Koran in the Sakıp Sabancı Museum collection is particularly noteworthy on account of the illumination on the final pages, and represents 15th century Ottoman arts of the book at their finest. The illumination seems to be the work of the same illuminator who decorated of Korans by the celebrated calligrapher Şeyh Hamdullah during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481-1512). The Koran has been rebound in the 20th century. The chestnut coloured leather covers have a stamped medallion with oval pendants filled with tooled decoration of scrolls and hatayi flowers, while the medallion and cornerpieces on the black leather doublures are filled with gold rumi motifs.

Detail

Title:

Koran

Date:

1500 civarı

Dimensions:

24,5 x 16,5 cm

Medium:

Sized paper, black ink, coloured paint, gold

Location:

Sabancı Üniversitesi Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi (Emirgan, İstanbul, Türkiye)

Credit:

Exhibition History

Koran

Detail

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