Page 59 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

he died in 1543. i6 Both the exterior and interior covers are
lacquered—painted on leather over pasteboard cores and fin-
ished with a heavy coating of lacquer. The designs used are
both highly traditional and innovative, indicating not only
the coexistence of diverse modes but also the virtuosity of the

18a. Lacquered binding (exterior) from a Hadis transcribed by Abdülhayf Ali
c. 1540 and dedicated to §chzade Mehmed (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi,
E.H. 2851)

17. Stamped and gilded leather binding from a small Koran,
mid-sixteenth century (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, E.H.
522)

corner quadrants, and a border filled with saz scrolls, similar
to that of Karahisari's album of calligraphy dated 1552/1553.
The border is further accented by a series of ovals in relief
and decorated with cloud bands, both stamped with gold.
The doublures, covered with reddish-brown leather, are
composed of a central medallion with superimposed hatayi
and rumi scrolls executed in leather filigree placed on a blue
ground. The combination of the newly devised saz scrolls on
the exterior and the traditional hatayis and rumis on the inte-
rior is frequently employed on bookbindings made in the
mid-sixteenth century.
Saz scrolls were employed on a great number of bindings,
including one made for a tiny volume of the Koran (5.7 by 5
centimeters, or about 2 inches square). Known as sancak Ko-
rans, these manuscripts, protected by metal, leather, or fabric-
covered boxes, were hung on banners or standards used dur-
ing campaigns. Written in gubari enclosed by circular frames,
the work has a reddish-brown leather cover. The exterior
(17) is decorated with saz scrolls that are painted black and
stand in relief against the recessed gold-stamped ground. The
scroll is conceived as a fragment of a larger design, framed by
a thin gold braid that intersects the motifs, showing a devia-
tion from the classical format, with self-contained composi-
tions filling the central medallions and corner quadrants. The
doublures are simply designed with a series of gold dots
framed by a braid.
An entirely different technique and decorative vocabulary
are employed on a volume containing the Persian translation
of the forty Hadis. Made for §ehzade Mehmed, the work
must have been completed and presented to the prince before

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