The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

Near Fine Paperback Washington, D.C. and New York: National Gallery of Art/Harry N. Abrams, 1987. Book. Near Fine. Soft cover. First Edition. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Stiff color decorated wraps. Light shelf wear, slightly age-tanned along fore-edges of both covers, otherwise nearly as issued. Square, uncreased binding, fully intact interior. Catalogue to accompany 1987-88 exhibition in Washington D.C., Chicago and New York. 357 pp., fully illus. in color, b&w..

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.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.