TEZHİP SANATI

Tezhip Art

The decorations made with gold and ocher paints of hand-written books dating back from past to present and Hüsn-i Hat plates are called "tezhip".

The main motifs used in Tezhip are Rumi, consisting of stylised wing and beak-like forms, geometric shapes, münhani, which is mostly seen in Seljuks and composed of curves added on top of each other, Hatai, which are stylised floral motifs, Xiangyun, a Chinese stylized cloud motif, Saz Yolu, also called kıvrım dal(curved branch), and tığlar(crochet needles) as auxiliary motifs.

In the 13th century, during the Anatolian Seljuks and Beyliks era of Turkey, Tezhip began to develop in Konya, the capital and important art centre of the era. In this period Mevlana's Masnavi dated 1278 was illustrated in Tezhip Art.

In the 15th century, during the reign of Mehmet the Conqueror, the Turkish Tezhip style was created in the palace's nakkaşhane. The famous master of this period was the chief painter of the place, Baba Nakkaş of Uzbek origin.

The 16th century is the pinnacle of classical Tezhip. Karamemi, the chief müzehhip (someone who practices Tezhip Art) of the palace of the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, left his mark on this period.

In the early 17th century Tezhip is very much a continuation of the 16th century. In the 18th century, flowers and patterns became larger. Baroque and Rococo styles were also adopted.

In the 19th century, the art of Tezhip, which had declined in popularity, survived to the modern times thanks to the efforts of Ord. Prof. Dr. A. Süheyl ÜNVER and his efforts to educate those who loved this art.