Illuminated Heading

Fine manuscripts such as this normally begin with a frontispiece or an illuminated heading giving the name of the text, in this case 'Siyar-i nabi (The Book of the Life of the Prophet) Volume Four’. The illumination is typical of manuscripts produced in the sixteenth century in Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Turks from 1453 to 1922. This style, however, evolved from Persian illumination. In particular, note the scrolling arabesques and the gold cloud scrolls (the latter derived, ultimately, from Chinese art).