A Different Practice in 16th Century Ottoman Book Arts: Flower Print Papers of ？ah u Geda Mathnawi

The study originates from the similarities found in the page ornamentations, made with a different method, of copy of ？ah u Geda, one of the mathnawis of Ta？l？cal？ Yahya, a poet of 16th century registered in Amasya IInd Bayezid Provincial Public Library inventory no 2067 and the ornamentations in some works of arts thought to have been created within the same century. ？ah u Geda’s naturalist style flowers are reminiscent of the Karamemi style, the reference point for ornamentations of the era and are of a similar understanding and environment associated with the ornamentations included in Muhibb？ Divan？ (Topkap？ Palace Museum Library: R.738 m.), dated 1565 and associated with Karamemi school. The fact that they are obtained through mould dressing method can be regarded as serial queries in technique. One of the reasons for this quest is the concerns in meeting the demands of foreigners crowding book markets emerging in certain localities of Istanbul of 16th century thus facilitating commercial activities in those markets. This can be seen in the albums thought to have been created with similar methods and having moved to Europe from Istanbul since 16th century. The inspiration for the flowers on the pages of ？ah u Geda, which is a love story taking place in Istanbul, originates from the flower gardens, a popular venue in Istanbul of the era, and the flowers raised there, the style is associated with flowers painted with mild colors and animal figures dispersed among them