TURKISH M M ATURFA
EDOM CENTQAL ASIA T O ANATOLIA
S
OME 3000 years a go there were, living in central and northern areas o f Asia, ethnic groups who, by virtue of their history and their anthropologi cal, linguistic and cultu ral systems, are now considered to have been the early fathers o f the Turks. In a land known as Turan, legen da ry kings wore golden crowns, rode swift, black horses and lived, together with their people, in tents, drinking ko urn is (fermen ted mare’s milk) as their staple diet. The origins of Turkish miniature art can be retraced to this period —known as the P re-tslam ic era — whilst the first Islamic miniature school was established in Baghdad in the 6th century. The genrereally came into its own in the 12th century with the establishment o f the Ottoman Empire.Engravings on wood or ceramic, produced by the Anatolian Seljuks, formed the baste for Otto man works o f art created over the subsequent cen turies. The creation o f a Turkish miniature was directed by a master, known as the nakka$ba$i or head-carver. The pat ron or master o f all car vers was Ali, the fourth Caliph o f M am . These craftsmen would work either freelance or under the patronage of some one, and generally in gro- ►
15. yüzyıl Türk Uygur minyatürü - Topkapı
Müzesi - 15th Century Turkish Ouigour Minia- ture - Topkapı Museum.
TURKISH MINIATURES-.
LO O M ΠN T P A L ASIA T O ANATOLIA
ups o f m asters and apprentices. The masters would either do the work themselves or guide their apprentices in illustra ting the text upon which the miniature was to be based. Once the work was completed the apprenti ces would make imitations. Miniatures were ba sed on texts falling into the following categories:
a) Those describing the prophets, the saints and religious feeling.
b) Those telling o f the legendary Khans o f Tu- ran (such as Jenghiz Khan and Tamburiaine) and o f the Ottoman Sultans.
c) Books o f poems written in Turkish, Ara bic and Persian.
d) Geography, Astro nomy, Botany and Medi cal books.
Not wanting to seek fame or praise, many of the carvers did not sign
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their work. It is, however, possible to identify the craftsmen by relying on chronolgy and archives. The m ajor craftsm en belonged to the following periods:
The Konya period: artists such as Bedrettin Yavaş and Aynuddevle.
The Bursa and Edirne periods: Nakkaş Ali.
The Istanbul period: This had the greatest number of artists. In bet ween the 15th and 19th
centuries there were famous artists such as Osman, Kalender, Nakşi, Hasan Paşa, Said, İbra him, Mimi Çelebi, Haya li, Rahmi and Karaka lem. Amongst the most interesting miniatures are O sm an E fe n d i’ s H iinernam e, Surnam e and Kıyafet-i İnsaniye F’i Şemaili Osmaniye, Ka- lender’s Falname, Levni’s Surname-i Vehbi, Mus tafa and Yusuf and Ömer Erzeni’s Siyer-ün Nebi.
Adam and Eve from Falname (above). The Beast of the Earth from Falname (left) Topkapi Museum.
