The illumination of the opening spread with the Fatiha and first four verses of the Bakara surah consists of a border with lappets in the form of half-medallions with pendants, and dark blue and gilded darts alternating with small red carnations. The lappets are filled with small pink, white and blue flowers and gold rumi motifs on a dark blue ground, and the gilded half-medallions in the centre are filled with pink and blue flowering stems. The horizontal panels above and below the writing area are decorated with knotted cloud bands in gold on a dark blue ground, with tiny flowers scattered in the spaces between them; and the vertical panels flanking the writing area are decorated with blue rumi motifs on a gilded ground. The surah headings, marginal rosettes marking the end of each five-page, twenty-page and ten-line section are illuminated. The style and layout of the illumination reflects that of Kara Memi, the celebrated palace illuminator who rose to fame in the mid-16th century during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-66).1 The Koran has no colophon, but the attributes of the calligraphy and illumination enable it to be dated to the mid-16th century. The dark brown leather binding with flap appears to date from the 20th century.
