ManuscriptsOttoman16th century

Illustrated manuscript of the Hadiqat al-Su'ada (Garden of the Blessed) by Fuzuli

c. 1575

Description

This is an illustrated copy of Hadikat al-Su'ada of Fuzuli who in his own words wrote it under the grace of an Ottoman official during the reign of the Ottoman sultan, Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) in or before 1547. The text in Azeri Turkish concerns the hardships endured by Prophet Muhammad and his family, especially his grandsons' death in Karbala, Iraq where the author Fuzuli was from. The manuscript is copied in 19 lines of naskh on 167 folios. There are notes and description of miniatures in Turkish in a later hand. There are four paintings: 1) 67v: Hasan and Husayn mourn as their father Ali is struck down by Ibn Muljan. 2) 77r: The poisoning of Hasan. 3) 100v: Young martyrs, Hasan and Husayn, hold up their heads after decapitation at the hands of the military governor of Kufa in 680. 4)145r: Devotion paid to the horse of martyr Husayn upon its return to camp. All the miniatures are text block size and horizontal ones force the viewer to turn the book for better viewing. Although the mosque depiction on the first miniature suggests an Ottoman context, the illustrative style, the colors of the miniatures, especially lilac and orange, and the overall quality of the manuscript suggest that it was not produced in the palace workshops.

Classification

Manuscripts

Medium

Painting with text; ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Culture

Ottoman

Period

Ottoman period

Century

16th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art