Koran

The opening spread with the Fatiha surah and first four verses of the Bakara surah is illuminated in the zer-ender-zer (gold-on-gold) style (ff. 1r-2v). The broad border is filled with interlacing rumi designs with flower motifs, a type of border composition typical of 16th century Safavid illumination. Although it is rarely found in 16th century Ottoman illumination, examples dating from the 18th and 19th centuries exist. Narrow vertical panels contain naive purple flowers on a gold ground and in the margins are naive red and purple branches on a gold-flecked ground. The surah headings, verse stops and marginal rosettes are also illuminated. The colophon on ff. 311v-311r is headed by an illuminated panel, in the centre of which is written in white ink, ‘illuminated by Zühdî, one of the followers of Hüseyin Hüsnî,’ i.e. Zühdî was a pupil of Hüseyin Hüsnî.

The binding with flap is original. The green and black leather covers are decorated with tooled decoration consisting of medallion and cornerpieces filled with gold rumi motifs surrounded by a border. The composition has been stamped with a single panel die (yekşah). The doublures and one side of the endpapers are lined with red leather decorated with gilded lozenges containing small flowers.