İSTANBUL’DA BULUNAN SİYER-İ NEBİ YAZMALARINA AİT MİNYATÜRLERDEKİ UÇAR VAZİYETTEKİ MELEK TASVİRLERİ
FLYING ANGEL DEPICTION IN MINIATURES OF SIYAR AL NABI MANUSCRIPTS IN ISTANBUL

Summary/Abstract: Siyer-i Nebi is a work written by Darir in Turkish for Mamluk Sultan Berkuk in Egypt at the end of the 14th century. About two hundred years after its writing, Ottoman Sultan Murat III requested an illustrated copy of the work. It was prepared in six volumes in 1595 in the palace cashtore. This work, which has five volumes to the present day; It details the life of Muhammad (p.a.v.) and contains 814 miniatures according to the documents. The Topkapi Palace museum contains original copies of TSMK H.1221, TSMK H.1222, TSMK H.1223, while the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art has a copy of the copy found at Chester Beatty Library in Dublin. Miniatures of siyer-i Nebi writing have the characteristics of ottoman classical art. Angel depictions in miniatures of the work describing the life of Muhammad (p.a.v.) appear in different colors and different positions when evaluated in general. It is possible to evaluate the angels of the writing of Siyer-i Nebi as those that are flying, standing, sitting, on horseback. In this study, the angels depicted in different positions in the miniatures of the Siyer-i Nebi manuscripts in Istanbul were discussed. Angels given in flight are depicted in different ways as those with two or four wings, one wing down one wing looking up and wings crossed. The depictions of angels in question, the use of clothing and color, hand and arm movements and face types were evaluated. The miniatures of Siyer-i Nebi, which has an important place in classical Ottoman miniature art and was prepared in the Palace nakkaşhane, show the characteristics of the painting art of the period. It is stated that six nakkaş may have worked in the team including Nakkaş Osman and Nakkaş Hasan Pasha. Angel depictions in miniatures of the work, which is the only miniature writing describing the life of Muhammad (p.a.v.), appear in different colors and different positions when evaluated in general. The appearance in question is also observed by angels who are flying. It is possible to group the angels given in flight according to their wings, two and four wings, those with crossed wings, and one wing down and one wing looking up. As a result, the depictions of angels seen flying in the Siyer-i Nebi writings in Istanbul, which contain important examples of classical Ottoman miniature art, are separated not only by their wingedness, but also by the other figures on stage with their fancy jewelry and clothes. Although the colors used in other figures in the composition were preferred as color in angels, our artist used several different colors both in his clothes and on his wings, allowing them to be easily separated from other figures. They also bring a movement to the stage due to their flying. In particular, the fact that the arms and wings are shown in different directions plays an important role in this mobility. Again, with its characteristics such as the fact that four large angels are given as four wings and other angels have two wings, it shows that the artist is trying to make the four great angels easily differentiate between the other angels. Some of the two-winged angels featured alone in some scenes are also separated from others by both their processing characteristics and the more ornate crown on their heads, highlighting that they are one of the four great angels.

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