Istanbul_ The Collected Traveler_ An Inspired Companion Guide - Barrie Kerper [28]
Three-petaled tulips and fan-shaped carnations became standardized and formulaic and were frequently combined, as on an embroidered wicker shield 64 centimeters (25 inches) across. Wicker, a strong and resilient material, is also lightweight, making it extremely desirable for both the Ottoman cavalry and infantry. These shields were constructed of withes wrapped with silk and metallic threads, then coiled and stitched together. The fronts were further reinforced with steel bosses and the backs padded and lined with velvet to cushion the elbow and protect the arm.
The naturalistic style was particularly favored by the potters of Iznik, a town which supplied the court with ceramic vessels and plates as well as tiles used on residential and religious architecture. The blossoming fruit tree was especially popular, and was used on tile panels decorating a number of buildings, including the mausoleum of Süleyman’s beloved wife, Hürrem Sultan, who died in 1558. A similar version was used on a panel, constructed of forty-five square tiles, made in 1574-1575 for a chamber leading into the imperial baths in the Harem of Topkapı Palace.
In addition to saz scrolls and sprays of naturalistic flowers, the court artists employed such traditional designs as rumis, cloud-bands, çintemani patterns, and spiraling vines. Rumis (split leaves) were generally used in scrolls, at times joined to create cartouches, as seen in the border of the tile panel from the Harem. Cloud-bands, resembling twisted and knotted ribbons, were often combined with other elements. They appear in the spandrels of the tile as well as in the voids of a brocaded velvet cushion cover decorated with çintemani motifs. çintemani referred to designs composed of clusters of triple balls and/or double wavy lines. Traced back to ancient Central Asian traditions, this pattern had talismanic as well as royal connotations, and is thought either to have derived from Buddhist symbols or to represent leopard spots and tiger stripes. The balls and wavy lines, used alone or together, were favored on satin and velvet textiles made for garments and furnishings, such as covers for cushions and bolsters or floor spreads.
The spiraling vine—thin branches bearing delicate blossoms and leaves—was first used on Süleyman’s tuğra, the imperial monogram that contained his name and title. It was also applied to a group of ceramic vessels and plates painted in blue or blue and turquoise.
The artists fully exploited the decorative motifs created in the nakkaşhane and harmoniously combined them, as exemplified on the tuğra affixed to a ferman (edict) dated 1552. Here saz scrolls fill the large ovoid extension on the left, rumis and sprays of naturalistic flowers adorn the smaller ovoid, and cloudbands and blossoming fruit trees are placed in the voids between the vertical strokes at the top.
The same profusion of decorative elements appears in a most spectacular copy of the Divan-i Muhibbi, a collection of Süleyman’s poems transcribed by Mehmed Şerif and illuminated in 1566 by Kara Memi. The margins of the folios have saz scrolls rendered in metallic gold and silver inks—the silver has now oxidized to gray—and the panels between the lines of text burst with brightly colored naturalistic flowers and trees.
Both stylized and naturalistic floral themes were skillfully combined by the other artists, including the potters and weavers. Ottoman textiles were greatly admired by the Europeans, who collected brocaded satins and velvets, some of which were fashioned into ecclesiastical garments or royal robes. Ottoman rugs were equally in demand, frequently used as wall hangings or table covers. One of the most celebrated sixteenth-century prayer rugs was