Description
Suleyman, who doubled the size of the Ottoman Empire during his reign, was a contemporary of Elizabeth I and Martin Luther. A strong patron of the arts, he maintained imperial studios where decorative themes invented for manuscript illumination were extended to pottery, tiles, woven silks, carpets and jewelry. This was an age when calligraphy was practiced by kings as well as copyists, and when ceramics as fine as the best Ming pottery poured forth from Turkish kilns. A touring exhibition focuses on works on loan from the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul; among the rewards of this handsomely illustrated catalogue are drawings of fantastic flying creatures, realistic scenes of natural beauty, daily articles such as embroidered handkerchiefs, ivory belts and mirrors.
