Abstract:

Long-lasting political power of the Ottoman Empire led to a self-sufficient society which kept Ottoman traditional arts from foreign influences for a long time. When XVII. century’s political environment forced the Ottoman Empire to open its doors to Western influences, some changes occured both in society and in the arts as architecture being the most effected. But, as much as the traditional arts is concerned, there had been only few improvements comparing to the previous century. Ottoman illumination art kept the previous century’s conservative and classic style in the XVII. century. Traditional styles continued in terms of design and the selection of ornamentation elements. In this paper, design, motif, colour, style features seen in manuscripts like Qur’an, diwan, masnavi, the deed of endowment (vakfiye) and tughra (the imperial cipher) will be explored in selected examples according to the chronology.

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