Nahla B. Nassar
Nour Foundation Curator and Registrar Nassar D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art London, England - - - May 9, 2002 North Carolina Museum of Art This is just a gem. Everything about it is perfection. Perhaps not this specific page, but the label is written about this page, so it is open to it. It's just lovely. Shown: Empire of the Sultans Art of the Ottoman Empire From the catalogue:
Also from the catalogue: The illumination of this Kur'an is exceptionally fine. The opening pages of the text (folio 3b-4a) make play with distorted shapes with double bands of inner margins suggestinf the patterns of Bizarre silks. Thirtieths and sixtieths of the text (cuz',hizb) and prostrations (secde) are indicated by graceful marginal sprays and the verse-stops are fine and varied. Other illuminated spreads combine acanthus scrolls, elements fropm the classical Ottaman repertory of chinoiserie foliage, and pomegranate medallions in imaginative designs where the legacy of the Ottaman illumination is nevertheless quite apparent. They demonstrate that, even by the mid-19th century when Ottoman decoration was very much influenced by European taste, it was well able to adapt it to the traditional canon. The scribe is named as Seyyid Mehmed Nuri, a pupil of Huseyin Vehbi, living (maskanan) in Shumen in Bulgaria, on the borders of the Dubruja. < > |