The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ornament, used in the Islamic world, typically using leaves, derived from stylised half-palmettes, which were combined with spiralling stems". It usually consists of a single design which can be 'tiled' or seamlessly repeated as many times as desired. Within the very wide range of Eurasian decorative art that includes motifs matching this basic definition, the term "arabesque" is used consistently as a technical term by art historians to describe only elements of the decoration found in two phases: Islamic art from about the 9th century onwards, and European decorative art from the Renaissance onwards. Interlace and scroll decoration are terms used for most other types of similar patterns.
The culture of the Ottoman Empire evolved over several centuries as the ruling administration of the Turks absorbed, adapted and modified the various native cultures of conquered lands and their peoples. There was influence from the customs and languages of nearby Islamic societies such as Jordan, Egypt and Palestine, while Persian culture had a significant contribution through the Seljuq Turks, the Ottomans' predecessors. Despite more recent amalgamations, the Ottoman dynasty, like their predecessors in the Sultanate of Rum and the Seljuk Empire were influenced by Persian culture, language, habits, customs and cuisines.Throughout its history, the Ottoman Empire had substantial subject populations of Orthodox subjects, Armenians, Jews and Assyrians, who were allowed a certain amount of autonomy under the millet system of the Ottoman government, and whose distinctive cultures were adopted and adapted by the Ottoman state.
The Süleymaniye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 and the inauguration date as 1557, although work on the complex probably continued for a few years after this.
The Rüstem Pasha Mosque is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named after Rüstem Pasha, who served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Suleiman I, it was designed by the Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan and completed in around 1563.
Levnî Abdulcelil Çelebi (1680s–1732) was an early 18th century Ottoman court painter. He was a prominent Ottoman miniaturist during the Tulip Period, well-regarded for his traditional yet innovative style.
The Selimiye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque, located in the city of Edirne, Turkey. It was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1575. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture as a whole and Ottoman architecture in particular.
Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine and Iranian architecture along with other architectural traditions in the Middle East. Early Ottoman architecture experimented with multiple building types over the course of the 13th to 15th centuries, progressively evolving into the classical Ottoman style of the 16th and 17th centuries. This style was a mixture of native Turkish tradition and influences from the Hagia Sophia, resulting in monumental mosque buildings focused around a high central dome with a varying number of semi-domes. The most important architect of the classical period is Mimar Sinan, whose major works include the Şehzade Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque, and Selimiye Mosque. The second half of the 16th century also saw the apogee of certain decorative arts, most notably in the use of Iznik tiles.
Turkish art refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical area of what is present day Turkey since the arrival of the Turks in the Middle Ages. Turkey also was the home of much significant art produced by earlier cultures, including the Hittites, Ancient Greeks, and Byzantines. Ottoman art is therefore the dominant element of Turkish art before the 20th century, although the Seljuks and other earlier Turks also contributed. The 16th and 17th centuries are generally recognized as the finest period for art in the Ottoman Empire, much of it associated with the huge Imperial court. In particular the long reign of Suleiman the Magnificent from 1520 to 1566 brought a combination, rare in any ruling dynasty, of political and military success with strong encouragement of the arts.
Iznik pottery, or Iznik ware, named after the town of İznik in Anatolia where it was made, is a decorated ceramic that was produced from the last quarter of the 15th century until the end of the 17th century. Turkish stylization is a reflection of Chinese Porcelain.
The Şehzade Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent as a memorial to his son Şehzade Mehmed who died in 1543. It is sometimes referred to as the "Prince's Mosque" in English. The mosque was one of the earliest and most important works of architect Mimar Sinan and is one of the signature works of Classical Ottoman architecture.
The Tiled Kiosk is a pavilion set within the outer walls of Topkapı Palace and dates from 1472 as shown on the tile inscript above the main entrance. It was built by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II as a pleasure palace or kiosk. It is located in the most outer parts of the palace, next to Gülhane Park. It was also called Glazed Kiosk.
The Yavuz Selim Mosque, also known as the Selim I Mosque and the Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located at the top of the 5th hill of Istanbul, Turkey, in the neighborhood of Çukurbostan, overlooking the Golden Horn. Its size and geographic position make it a familiar landmark on the Istanbul skyline.
Siyâvash, Siyavush, or Siyavush Beg was an Iranian illustrator of Georgian origin known for his miniatures with dramatic landscape elements and well-organized compositions. He was active at the court of the Safavid shahs of Iran.
The Topkapı Scroll is a Timurid dynasty patterned scroll in the collection of the Topkapı Palace museum.
Cuerda seca is a technique used when applying coloured glazes to ceramic surfaces.
Gülru Necipoğlu is a Turkish American professor of Islamic Art/Architecture. She has been the Aga Khan Professor and Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University since 1993, where she started teaching as Assistant Professor in 1987. She received her Harvard Ph.D. in the Department of History of Art and Architecture (1986), her BA in Art History at Wesleyan, her high school degree in Robert College, Istanbul (1975). She is married to the Ottoman historian and Harvard University professor Cemal Kafadar. Her sister is the historian Nevra Necipoğlu.
Esin Atıl was a Turkish-American historian of Islamic art and curator of Islamic art at the Freer Gallery of Art.
Veli Can was an Ottoman painter known for his works in saz style.
Şahkulu was an Ottoman painter who played a leading role in a formation of the saz style.
Haydar Reis, or Ra῾is, called Nigari, 'the portraitist', was a 16th-century Ottoman naval captain, painter and poet. His paintings, often accompanied by his own verses, include portraits of such important Ottoman figures as Suleiman the Magnificent, Hayreddin Barbarossa and Selim II, as well as contemporary European emperors and kings. Some of these individual works of art were later included in albums (muraqqa) containing works by various hands.
Peri with a lute. Unknown artist, c. 1550. From an album in Topkapı Palace Library
Ornamental drawing of a palmette (hatayi), attributed to Veli Can. From an album in Topkapı Palace Library
Portrait of a Woman, by Veli Can or another artist of his circle, ca. 1585. Sadberk Hanım Museum
Iznik dish with an all-over design of composite lotus blossoms and rosettes overlapped in curved serrated leaves, c. 1545-1550. British Museum
Iznik tiled lunette panel from the Piyale Pasha Mosque, c. 1570-75. Victoria and Albert Museum
Detail from a kemha ceremonial kaftan with saz pattern made for Şehzade Bayezid, mid-sixteenth century. Topkapı Palace Museum
Niche - Prayer Carpet, second half of the 16th century. Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
Binding from "The Cream of Histories" (Zubdat al-tawarikh), c. 1585-1590. Chester Beatty Library
Book cover by Ali Üsküdarî, 1747-48. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery![This drawing of dragon entangled in swirling foliage under attack from a lion above while assaulting a phoenix is "certainly the greatest masterpiece of the [saz] style" and is attributed to Sahkulu. Cleveland Museum of Art Sahkulu - Dragon in foliage with lion and phoenix heads - 1944.492 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Sahkulu_-_Dragon_in_foliage_with_lion_and_phoenix_heads_-_1944.492_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif/lossy-page1-400px-Sahkulu_-_Dragon_in_foliage_with_lion_and_phoenix_heads_-_1944.492_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif.jpg)
