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Medieval Manuscripts: Muhibbî Dîvânı: A Sultan in Love

From sultan to servant: in this collection of poems, Süleyman the Magnificent gives up all his powers to worship a girl “as tall as a cypress, with cheeks as red as roses”. And what better decoration than ever-changing gold and pastel floral patterns?

The citizens of sixteenth-century Constantinople loved their flowers and gardens, and thanks to the imperial painting studio’s head artist Kara Memi, silk goods, ceramics, and tiles also blossomed with tulips, carnations, and roses.

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When Kara Memi’s art merged with Sultan Süleyman’s verses, an unparalleled masterpiece of Ottoman art unfolded: the Muhibbî Dîvânı, filled with words of love and flowers of gold, illuminated in such detail that it takes a trained eye to distinguish all its hues.

The illuminator was so skilled he created 370 different floral patterns: how many can you find in the video?

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Our thanks to Facsimile Finder for helping us create this post. You can learn more about this manuscript and see more images by visiting their website.

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