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Manuscript Production in the Ottoman Palace Workshop by Zeren Tarumdt

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Manuscript Production in the Ottoman Palace Workshop by Zeren Tarumdt Manuscript production in the Ottoman Palaceworkshop by ZerenTarumdt. Interest in the art of manuscript illustration during med and Murad II7. He played an important role in the Ottoman period beganin the l4th century among channelingthe interest of the sultans under whom he the rulers of the Anatolian Emirates. These rulers, servedtowards the arts and sciences.One document being unfamiliar with both Arabic and Persian, the citescertain volumesin Arabic donated by Umur Bey major literary and scientific languagesof the time, in Zilkade 843/April 1440to a medresebuilt by him in encouragedthe translation of works into Turkish, as Bergamaand 33 Turkish manuscriptswhich he donated well as commissioning original works in that lan- to a mosque in Bursa built under his patronage.The guage1. Arabic works were to be used'as text books in the The rulers of three emirates in particular, namely medrese,while the Turkish manuscriptswere for the the Karaman, Germiyan and Kastomonu emirates, use of the general public who had no knowledge of were notable for their patronagein this area, a patro- Arabic or Persian8.According to a document dated nagewhich continued into the secondhalf of the l4th 85711453,Umur Bey donated his library of 60 manu- century. Towards the end of the century, the powers scripts to the imaret Mescid in Bursa, of which his of the patronagepassed largely from their hands into father had beenthe foundere.The document listseach those of the Ottoman court and to the metropolis in volume by namelo. In a foundation document dated which the Ottoman crown princes were based. We Muharram 859 / December 1454,a total of 300 titles may illustrate this transfer of patronage by reference are cited as forming the library donated by Umur Bey to several philosophersand poets who had worked in Bursa11. In all, the documents relating to the under the patronage of the emirates, €.g., Ahmedi, libraries of Umur Bey, details of the upkeep of the Ahmed Dai and $eyhi, who worked for the Germiyan library and of those who were to be responsiblefor emirs. and Darir, who worked under Karamanh patro- executionof the foundation are stipulated. nage. Ahmedi, Ahmed Dai and $eyhi also prepared A close scrutiny of the Bursa libraries has uncovered works for the first Ottoman sultans,while Darir spent only very few of the works donated by Umur Beyt'. several years in Karaman after returning from Egypt Despite the small number of surviving works, how- where he had presentedhis Turkish manuscriptwork, ever,their fine, elaboratelydecorated bindings suggest the S1r,er-iNebí, to Sultan Barq[q for whom it had that the first organized workshops in which original been written in Egypt2. This was during a time when illuminated Turkish manuscriptswere produced were relations between the Germiyans, Karamans and establishedin Bursa. In any case,we are discussing Ottomans were extremelyclose, with marital ties being material of considerableimportance for the Turkish formed which cementedthe relationship3.Darir's two manuscript arts of the first half of the l5th century. works, the Sqler-i l,lebí and the Futuh eg-^fam,must This material is particularly important for the infor- have attracted the attention of the emirs with literary mation it provides concerningthe art of binding and inclinations. I believethat both of these works must the binders of that period. We may say that Umur Bey, haveentered the library of Timurta$ Pa$a,governor of founder of the first inventorizedlibrary of the Ottoman Ktitahya and Beylerbeyi of Anatoliaa, who was period, was the initiator of organizedmanuscript pro- renownedfor his wealth, as both appear in the inven- duction under the Ottomansl3. tory of manuscripts bequeathedby his son, Umur We know that manuscript production of good qua- Beys. The wealth of Timurtag Pagapassed to his sons, lity was under the exclusivepatronage of the Ottoman who were the military commandersof the early Otto- court by the second half of the l5th century, for man sultans, and who built a number of mosques, example the works prepared for Mehmed II and his medresesand similar public buildings in Bursa and vizier Mahmud Paga. After Bursa ceasedto be the throughout westernAnatolia, establishingfoundations Ottoman capital, the production of manuscriptsconti- for their maintainanceó.Umur Bey was an important nued in the workshops of Edirne and later istanbul. statesmanwho servedunder severalOttoman sultans Among the manuscripts emerging from these work- in Bursa, namely Emir Siileyman,Qelebi Sultan Meh- shops are some inscribed by master craftsmen and Manuscriptsofthe Middle East 5 (1990-1991) t' Ter Lugt Press.Donkersteeg l9 2ll2 HA Leiden.Netherlands. 1993 ISSN0920-0401 68 N,IANUSCRIPTSOF THE MIDDLE EAST5 (I990.I99I) elaborately bound. They consist of several scientific the work. Mevlana Seyyid Lokman. and two akqes works, a1ldedicated to Mehmed IIla (figs.1, 2), three each to the illustrators Osman and Ali. while the illustratedmanuscriptsls, and three Qur'ans.One of calligrapher,binder and apprentices.whose names are thesewas written in Edirne and donated by Mahmud not mentioned, also received advance, terakki. for Pagato the MevlanaTomb in Konyaló. The secondis their work. A secondexpense document dated 99lr dedicatedto Mehmed II, and is now in a private 1583 relates to the historical manuscript Ziibdet iit- collectionin Italy, while the third is in the Museum of Tevàrih20.A third documentof this kind most pro- Turkish and Islamic Arts in istanbullT. These are babiy relatesto the first volume history of the Otto- known to be the products of the workshops of the man sultans. the Hilnernante, dated 992i15842r a Mehmed II period. fourth, dated 996t1588,lists the expensesof the Information about the workings and organization secondvolume of Hilnername.Lhehistory of Srileyman of manuscript production at the court is beginnrngto I22. and a fifth relates to the six-volume Siler-i come to light with the emergenceof such documents l{ebr23. as the Ehl-i Hre./'register. or accounts of the wages Such systematicdocumentation of the preparation paid to thoseartists on the coul't payroll as part of the of illustratedmanuscripts and the survival of such Ottoman state bureaucracy. documentsto the presentday meansthat we know the Little is known of the organizationof the manu- namesof the main artists.iiluminators and bookbin- script workshops of the Seljuks.Abbasids. Ilkhanids. dersof the l6th centuryat the court in a period when Timurids. Akkoyunlu and Karakoyunlu Turkmens. Turkish manuscript art was at its height. Thesewere: the Jalairids,Safavids, Mamluks and Mughals. whereas the painters $ahkulu, Osman. Ali. Velican. and for the Ottomans, regional governmental and legal Hasan: the illuminators: Karamemi and Bayram b. accounts.Kaà Sit'ilidocuments dating from the l5th Dervig; the binders.Mehmed Qelebi.his son Siiley- century to the early 20th century. endowments man, his brothers Hi.iseyinand MustaÍa Qelebi. and (Vakfi1'1'e),the little publishedEhl-i Hreí register.and Abdi b. $aban and Kara Mehmed. We know exactly other relatedaccounts are important sourcesof infor- which works were prepared by which teams.A num- mation for the cultural structureof the court and the ber of accountbooks dating to the 16th centuryand organizationof art productionat the court during the relating to unidentified manuscripts have also been Ottoman period. uncovered,but it is as yet too early to draw any Among thesedocuments are accountbooks showing conclusionsfrom these until more definitive evidence the expenditureincurred during the preparationof an is established. illustratedmanuscript. whrch furnish us with the One of the most original products of the Ottoman namesof the artistsinvolved and their assistants.as palaceworkshop. in terms of illustratedmanuscripts. well as thoseof the bookbindersand their associates.is the $uhrrctnteof the Ottoman sultans. One of the One sectionof the Ehl-i Href'register.now published reasonsfor this is the establishmentof the post of in chronologicalorder. givesthe namesof all those ofhciaicourt chronicleror Sahnanteciduring the l5th involvedin manuscriptproduction. citing their origins centurv and the relative importance of that post (Persian.Georgian. Hungarian, etc.). sometimes their u'ithin the bureaucraticorganization. One of the most provenanceand the date of their entry into the court important hoiders of this oÍïce was Arifi. the author service.details of their successor.their monthly wages of the five-volumeTet,urih-i Al-i Osntan an illustrated and deaths18.These documents do not. however. manuscript dating from the reign of Sultan Srileyman indicate the specificmanuscripts for which these bin- the Magnificent2a. ders or artistswere responsible.Lists of gifts presented The foreword to the Sahname-iSelim Han written by mastercraftsmen to the sultan on specialfeast da.vs by SeyyidLokman, which relatesthe history of Sultan include the namesof the binder or artists. the type of Selim II, is evidenceof the importanceof the post of gifts presentedby them and the sultan's reward for Sahnameciat the Ottoman court: it also supplies their labours. valuabledocumentation concerning the variousstages The accountbooksare a reliable sourcefor establish- of preparation of an illustratedmanuscript. This fore- ing the teamsof artistsengaged in the preparationof a word was publishedby Dr. Filiz Qagmanin 19732s. manuscript. Such documents give the title of the Soon after his appointment as Sohnameci($evval976 r manuscript,the namesof the author. the artist and his
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