Page 35 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

Fig. 10. Portrait of Sultan Süleyman by Nigari, c. 1560 (Istanbul, Topkapi
Sarayí Müzesi, H. 2134/8)

Fig. 11. Portrait of Sultan Selim II by Nigari, c. 1570 (Istanbul, Topkapi
Sarayí Müzesi, H. 2134/3)

cloud bands and the indigenous çintemani patterns, spiral one volume after another. Very little is known about most of
vines, and sprays of naturalistic flowers. The çintemani pat- them; though several recorded their names in the colophons
tern, using triple balls and double wavy lines alone or in of a few manuscripts, they are identified only by these exam-
combination, was applied to a variety of media, including ples. On the other hand, the lives and works of certain cele-
textiles and ceramics. The spiral scroll, which evolved around brated master calligraphers, such as §eyh Hamdullah and
1520, was generally rendered in blue with delicate blossoms; Ahmed Karahisari, are well documented. These artists were
it was used in manuscript illuminations as well as in a group not members of the katiban society, but held a special status
of ceramics. The most original theme of the age was the na- in the court; they were highly respected for their art, which
turalistic genre with clearly identifiable spring flowers. was primarily devoted to copying the Koran.
The delight in representing a garden in perpetual bloom Ottoman calligraphers practiced the traditional Arabic
made its appearance in the 1540s and soon spread to all the scripts established by the great Yakut in the thirteenth cen-
decorative arts. The aristocratic saz style coexisted with the tury as well as the Persian types, and in addition they devel-
joyous and colorful naturalistic genre, each representing a dif- oped their own individual styles. Yakut's aklam-i sitie (six
ferent approach to decoration and yet each in its own way scripts that included sülüs, nesih, muhakkak, reyhani, tevkii,
highly characteristic of Ottoman aesthetics. and rikaa) was revolutionized by §eyh Hamdullah and
The Ehl-i Hiref also included the Cemaat-i Katiban (Society Ahmed Karahisari, both of whom established their own
of Calligraphers), whose duties were to transcribe the texts. schools of writing. Hamdullah was renowned for his impec-
These men, listed in payroll registers and other documents, cable nesih (see 7); Karahisari came to be known for his cell,
were scribes who worked alone or in groups, churning out a large script employed in architectural inscriptions (fig. 12),

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