Tsmk A. 3594: Codicological Analysis and Stylistic Features of a LittleKnown Illustrated Copy of the Sûrnâme-i Vehbî

Abstract

This essay will focus on one of the illustrated copies of Vehbi’s Sûrnâme (festival book of Vehbi) that has the catalog number TSMK. A. 3594. In 1720, on the occasion of the circumcision of four crown princes of Sultan Ahmed III, the Ottoman court organized an imperial festival at Okmeydanı and Haliç that lasted for three weeks. Seyyid Vehbi Efendi (d. 1736), who was among the renowned bureaucrats of the time, received the task of compiling the official chronicle of the event. While the festival was concluding, Vehbi began revising his notes, and at the same time, the Ottoman court commissioned two illustrated manuscripts of the festival book. Secondary literature on Ottoman art history recognizes these two illustrated festival books, commissioned concurrently with the festival’s organization. Yet, scholars focused primarily on the copy illustrated by the painter Levnî (catalog number TSMK. A. 3593). The paintings in this copy, thought to have been produced for the sultan, have undergone comprehensive analysis by researchers and are published in various other publications. The illustrated copy by Ibrahim, who resided and worked at the Ottoman palace during the early eighteenth century, has only recently undergone thorough examination. Nevertheless, when this copy and its paintings are analyzed through a comparative approach with the other illustrated festival book, they reveal significant information regarding the manuscript and the pictorial vocabulary of its painter/designer. This paper will begin by addressing the commissioning process and codicology of the festival book with catalog number TSMK. A. 3594. Finally, it will examine the stylistic elements of Ibrahim’s paintings and his compositional framework.