Important Ottoman Miniature Depicting Sultan Mehmed Ii’s Accession to the Throne, School of Nakkash Osman - SOLD

Project Details

Important Ottoman Miniature Depicting Sultan Mehmed Ii’s Accession to the Throne, School of Nakkash Osman – SOLD

Ottoman Empire, School of Nakkash Osman, Second Half of the 16th Century, Dimensions: 15.8 x 19.4 cm.

The present miniature is from the workshop of Nakkash Osman, the eponymous scriptorium that produced illustrated manuscripts for the court. The work bears striking resemblance to miniatures from the renowned Hünername, a history of the Ottoman sultans (preserved in the Topkapi Palace Museum Library, inv. no. H. 1523).

The first section of the Hünername was composed by Ottoman court historians Arifi and Eflatun. Later, Sultan Murad III’s court historian Seyyid Lokman completed the rest of the text.

The illustrations of the Hünername were produced by Nakkash Osman and his assistants. It was intended to be prepared in four volumes but at the end only two volumes were produced. The final version contains eighty-nine miniatures. The present miniature depicts the accession of Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1444-1446 / 1451-1481) in Edirne which took place in 1451. The Sultan is enthroned in the centre. On both sides high ranking government officials take their place in accordance with court protocol.

The Sultan’s posture on his throne, the vizier kissing his feet, and the rendering of members of the audience, link it incontrovertibly to its counterpart in the Hünername, please see Nurhan Atasoy & Filiz Çağman’s (ed. Dr. Esin Atil) Turkish Miniature Painting, Istanbul, 1974, pl. 23.

The Ottoman Turkish inscription in naskh script on the top right corner of the miniature reads:

“… tāli’ olub Sultān Mehmed Hān hazretlerinin māh-i ta‘lat-i humāyūnu maşrık-i ikbālden lāmi‘ oldu”.

Translation:
“Sultan Mehmed Khan’s luminous and enlightened moon-like face became visible like the rising sun from the Orient of prosperity”.

For a detailed discussion of the career of Nakkash Osman and works produced in his palace workshop please see, Nurhan Atasoy & Filiz Çağman’s (ed. Dr. Esin Atil) Turkish Miniature Painting, Istanbul, 1974, pp. 45-48. Also see, Serpil Bağcı, Filiz Çağman, Günsel Renda, Zeren Tanındı’s Osmanlı Resim Sanatı, 2006, pp. 116-131.

In court scriptoriums multiple copies of similar scenes were produced and presented to the patron for approval. This miniature was probably intended for the first volume of the Hünername, which contains lives of the first nine Ottoman sultans, including Mehmed II, and

has thirty-seven miniatures. Another example of an intended miniature from the Safavid world is found in the Shah Tahmasp Album in the Istanbul University Library (inv no. F 1422) where a miniature intended
for the Shah Tahmasp Shahnanama is preserved (fol. 30a). Ottoman miniatures of this period and quality are extremely rare, especially when they can be attributed to a court master, Nakkash Osman, and a court manuscript such as the Hünername.

Ottoman Court Painter Nakkash Osman

Nakkash Osman was the head of the Ottoman palace workshops in the Topkapi Palace during the later half
of the sixteenth century. His earliest works are datable between 1560 and 1570. They were created for a Turkish translation of the famous Shahnama, a Persian epic poem by Ferdowsi (d. 1020). Nakkash Osman and his workshop were responsible for illustrating chronicles produced by court historians including the Zafername (Book of Victories), the Şahname-i Selim Han (Sultan Selim’s Book of Kings) and the Şehinşahname (King of Kings’ book) as well as the Hünername (History of the Ottoman sultans).

Nakkash Osman and his workshop also worked on the illustrators of the Siyer-i Nebi, a lavishly illustrated manuscript that was commissioned by Ottoman ruler Murad III (r. 1574–1595). This work which has been described as “the largest single cycle of religious painting in Islamic art” and “the most complete visual portrayal of the life of the prophet Muhammad”.

Nakkash Osman’s illustrative style is plain, yet perceptive. His illustrations show careful attention to the most minute detail, depicting events in a realistic manner. Nobel Prize-winner Orhan Pamuk’s novel My Name Is Red is a fictional account of Nakkash Osman and his workshop. In the story, Osman blinds himself with a needle, emulating the blindness of the legendary miniaturist Behzad. His demise represents the end of classical Ottoman miniature painting because after him Ottoman painter gradually followed a less local, Westernized style.

A similar miniature depicting Sultan Selim I’s accession to the throne, attributed to Nakkash Osman, was sold at Sotheby’s, London, for £43,750 (Arts of the Islamic World Including Fine Rugs and Carpets, 1 May 2019, Lot: 61).

Categories: Notable Sales
Credits: Private European Collection

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Important Ottoman Miniature Depicting Sultan Mehmed Ii’s Accession to the Throne, School of Nakkash Osman – SOLD

Enquiries