Turkish Miniatures [antikvár]

Many people chancing upon this book will be surprised that there is such a subject as Turkish miniatűré painting. It should be in no way embarrassing to have held such an opinion, because until about 1950 there was hardly any generál awareness of the existence of this art, let alone a knowledge of its true character. This was all the more surprising since the West has admired other Turkish art forms for a long time. For instance, the West has gained its love for the Orientál carpet from Turkish rugs from Anatolia; these reached Europe in ever greater numbers from the fourteenth century on-that is, long before the Western world became familiar with the Persian carpet-and were immediately accorded a place of honour in church, palace, and rich burgher's home. More recent artistic discoveries are Turkish pottery vessels and plates with their gaily painted floral decorations which, from the late nineteenth century on, have been highly coveted objects in Western museums and collections. Finally, it is well known that the great mosques of Istanbul have made a deep and lasting impression on all Western travellers. Why should it then be that the art of painting has been neglected for so long? Historicaily speaking, the earliest reason for this unawareness of Turkish painting was the generál misconception, until the beginning of this century, that painting as an art did not exist in the Muslim world. Although the Korán itself does not speak out against the creation of figurái paintings, later theologians did take up this negative attitűdé, which crystallized in the final codifications of the