Page 103 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

kulu and the notation: "This dragon is the work of master
§ahkulu, the Rumi." The sketch, in the so-called Behram
Mirza Album, has a preface written in 1544/1545 by Dost
Muhammed, who might have been responsible for the nota-
tion. It appears to be the earliest datable drawing of §ahkulu.
Even though too faint to determine the artist's style, it never-
theless establishes a date for his dragon drawings.
The second dragon, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
bears another later notation that states the work was by §ah-
kulu. Although this drawing belongs stylistically to the last
quarter of the sixteenth century and is not as refined as the
others in the series, it is significant in attempting to identify
the dragon theme with §ahkulu. 96
The name of §ahkulu appears on one other drawing (see
fig. 9), that of a flying peri holding a long-necked bottle and
a stemmed cup, also removed from an imperial album. This
example, now in the Freer Gallery of Art, is superbly detailed,
its execution befiting the reputation of the master. 97
§ahkulu, recorded in the payroll register of 1526 as "§ah-
kulu-i Bagdadi," must have originated from Baghdad. The
document states that he was exiled from Tabriz, most likely
around 1501 when Ismail took over in Iran. §ahkulu, whose
name means the "servant (or slave) of the §ah," was proba-
bly in the service of the Akkoyunlu sultan and left Iran when
the Safavids defeated his patron. He first lived in Amasya and
then moved to Istanbul, joining the nakka§hane between De-
cember 1520 and January 1521. He drew the highest salary
in the society in 1526, was made serbolük in 1545, and is
mentioned in a document dated 1555/1556 as having died
before he could be given the bayram gifts from the sultan.
Another document datable to 1545 states that he gave a rep-
resentation of a peri on paper to the sultan. 47. Composite page with saz leaves and peri from an album, mid-sixteenth
Mustafa AH, in his biography of the artists completed in century (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, H. 2168, fol. lOb)
1586, wrote that §ahkulu was trained in Tabriz by a master
named Aka Mirak, an artist who later joined the Safavid
court. 98 According to Mustafa Ali, when §ahkulu came to the
court soon after Süleyman's accession, he was given an inde- which emerges from a bunch of saz leaves with tiny birds
pendent studio; the sultan used to watch him work there and perched on its tips, is almost a personification of a blossom.
frequently rewarded him with gifts. Mustafa Ali also insin- This portion of the folio is painted on silk, whereas the other
uated that the artist was ill-mannered, had a nasty tempera- fragments are on paper. Saz leaves overlap blossoms on the
ment, and frequently feuded with his colleagues. §ahkulu, left panel, while a more delicate rendition of the leaf design
identified with drawings of dragons and peris, must have occupies the horizontal piece added to the top. These frag-
been the master who executed the Cleveland example, which ments, enhanced with touches of gold and yellow, green, and
shows the same refined technique as his work in the Freer. blue tints, are skillfully united with the drawing on silk by
The last ingredient of the saz style is the peri, which coun- extending and joining the floral elements.
teracts the ferocious stalking dragon and represents the idyllic Another Istanbul album is filled with single paintings and
tranquility of the enchanted forest. The peri is also an integral drawings, many of which represent angels who either fly or
part of this world, blending with its leaves and blossoms, as sit in an undefined space, although at times they are shown
observed on a composite page (47) from an album in Istan- in a landscape or have carpets spread under them. The peris
bul. Constructed of four separate fragments pasted together, have pairs of swooping wings and frequently wear crowns or
the right portion contains the head of a female who has long hats made of long feathery leaves, short-sleeved tunics over
locks of black hair falling to her shoulders and wears an elab- long sleeves and skirts, jeweled belts, and flowing ribbons
orate hat made of large blue and red tinted leaves. The figure, tied to their torsos. They hold in their hands musical instru-

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