Ottoman Art and Architecture

1- Seyyid Lokmân’ın Hünernâme adlı eserinde Topkapı Sarayı’nın birinci avlusunu tasvir eden minyatür (TSMK, Hazine, nr. 1523, vr. 15^b)

2- Selimiye Mosque, Edirne, general view, Mehmet Nihat Nigizberk Collection of Architectural Drawings and Photographs 

“Every creature and every building is beautiful (güzel) either within or without, but never do these two kinds of beauty exist together. However, both the interior of this (The Süleymaniye) mosque have been built in a gracious manner (şirinkarlık üzre). In the whole of Firangistan [Europe] we have never seen such an exemplary building so perfect in the science of geometry (İlm-i hendese)..” Seyahatname by Evliya Çelebi

Necipoğlu, Gülru. "Challenging the Past: Sinan and the Competitive Discourse of Early Modern Islamic Architecture." Muqarnas 10 (1993): 169-80. Accessed September 1, 2020. doi:10.2307/1523183.

The great Ottoman Empire, at its height, spread from North Africa, to the Levant, and in the Balkans and left behind artistic, architectural and cultural heritage. Three important turning point in the art and architecture history of Ottoman Empire can help us how this the artistic and architectural production of empire emerged through the history: The conquest of Constantinople, Golden Age under the reign of Süleyman “The Magnificent” and the Tulip Period of Sultan Ahmet III.

This subject guide will help you to introduce the art and architecture history of Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922. Within the main themes of the subject guide, titles address a wide range of topics including İznik pottery, Turkish carpets, woven and embroidered textiles, calligraphy, performative arts, tradition of Ottoman architecture which was derived from Byzantine tradition and architectural traditions of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The guide will assist you with your research and will further support your knowledge.

Browsing the menu, you will come across resources that comprise both general interest as well as academic, so that you will be able to synthesize them according to your information needs and professional expertise.

Let’s overview one the beauties and masterpieces of the Ottoman Empire!