Koran

This Koran was written by the Prince (Şehzade) Korkut (d. 1513), the son of Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481-1512). The colophon in rıka script on f. 352r reads, Kad temme hâze’l- mushafu’ş [-Şerifi] fi yedi Korkut ... zâde (?), gâfarallâhu lehu ve li vâlideyhi ve ahsene ileyhimâ ve ileyhi ve li cemi’i’l-mü’minîne ve’l-mü’minâti ve’l-müslimîne ve’l-müslimât âmîn tarih (?) (This precious Koran was copied by Korkut [...zâde?]. May God forgive the sins of his mother and father and succour all Muslims, amen, dated ...). The letters following the name Korkut in the first line of the colophon are too worn to read, but the remaining traces suggest that it must be the word şehzade (prince). The year in the last line is also illegible.

This Koran by Şehzade Korkut has an illuminated opening spread, like other Korans in the Sakıp Sabancı Museum collection. The narrow rectangular cartouches flanking the Fatiha surah and first four verses of the Bakara surah are filled with flowering gold branches in yellow gold on a ground of green gold. The horizontal cartouches above and below the writing are ornamented with red buds and gold and pink flowers on gold branches on a lapis blue ground. Large blue flowers on gold branches on a gold ground fill the medallion and spandrels. Similar decoration fills the lobed lappets. Compositions of this type with lappets extending into the margins were used in illuminated works on various different subjects in the mid-16th century. This Koran by Korkut is one of the earliest examples of such compositions. Closely spaced blue darts fill the rest of the margins. The surah headings are written in white ink on a gold ground inside cartouches surrounded by naive gilded leaves on a lapis blue ground. The words indicating the end of each ten-verse and five-page sections are set inside illuminated oval medallions in the margins, and each twenty-page section is marked by the word cüz inside an illuminated star-like motif. The book was rebound in the early 20th century. The chestnut coloured binding with flap is decorated with medallions filled with gilded rumi scrolls on the covers and the doublures are lined with marbled paper.