Page 78 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

of the scene—with a group of tents in the foreground, the ac-
tion taking place in the center, and a fortress placed in the
background—became the prototype for the siege scenes fre-
quently depicted in illustrated Ottoman histories. Other paint-
ings in the work include domed and arcaded structures and
pavilions with gardens or courtyards, attempting to re-create
specific architectural settings.
The manuscript's lacquered cover (33b) is decorated with
saz scrolls rendered in slight relief and painted red and gold
on the black leather ground. The scrolls, which spring from
the cluster of leaves placed in the center of the lower edge,
represent the perfected form of this style. They bear com-
pound hatayis and sprays of blossoms intermingled with un-
dulating leaves that pierce or overlap the floral motifs, creat-
ing a highly dynamic composition. The blossoms and leaves
arc overlaid with additional flora or sprout other floral ele-
ments. This style of exuberant decoration was also employed
by the potters and weavers, as seen in the tiles, brocaded
silks, and pile rugs produced for the court. The indication of
the point of origin of the scroll, a directional feature fre-
quently employed on textiles and ceramics, is noteworthy.
The 1530/1531 Hamse-i Nevai establishes the terminus a
quo for the fully developed saz scroll that had a tremendous
impact on the other imperial arts. It also establishes the date
in which an indigenous Ottoman painting style began to
emerge, synthesizing the traditions of artists trained in Herat
and Tabriz with those of local origin and creating a character-
istic court style.
The ultimate development and refinement of this style is
found in the three paintings of the Ravzat el-U§ak (Garden of
lovers) of Arifi. The author was the cahnameci (official court
biographer) and wrote for Süleyman the §ahname-i Al-i Os-
man (Book of kings of the Ottoman house), a five-volume
history of the Ottoman sultans. Arifi, whose contribution to
the genre of illustrated history will be discussed later, col-
laborated with a particular group of painters, one of whom
was selected to illustrate his only literary work. 34. Royal couple in a courtyard from the Ravzat el-U$ak of Arifi,
Datable to 1560, the volume contains three paintings that c. 1560 (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Art Museums,
represent original and diverse subjects, indicating that a fol. 23a)
highly innovative artist composed them. The first (34) depicts
a princely couple in a courtyard with the lady pondering her
reflection in a pool. The domed two-story structure in the
background, with narrow entrance, arched balcony, stained-
glass windows, and colonnaded facade, exhibits the same ar-
chitectural features found in the representation of the Top- depiction of a mirror-image reflection is most unusual and
kapi Palace in the Süleymanname, the fifth volume in Arifi's rarely employed in Islamic painting. 61
voluminous history (see 41a-41d). It is clear that the artist The interest in representing realistic settings is clearly dem-
has used as his setting one of the courtyards of the sultan's onstrated in the remaining illustrations. One of them, possibly
palace. Other realistic details include accessories worn by the the earliest scene from everyday life in Ottoman art, re-cre-
protagonists, such as the ivory-handled dagger tucked into ates a typical butcher's shop. 62 The other shows a fox dressed
the belt of the prince, the embroidered cap of the lady, and as a half-naked dervish walking in a landscape, with a cluster
the jeweled belts worn by both figures, examples of which of buildings in the background that resemble the types used
exist in the imperial collections (see 92, 93, and 76-78). The to represent eastern European cities in historical manu-

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