Kara Memi

Kara Memi (fl. 1545–1566) — Illumination (Tezhip).

Kara Memi (Kara Mehmed Çelebi) was the student and successor of Şahkulu and head illuminator (sernakkaş) of the palace atelier under Süleyman the Magnificent. He created the naturalistic “Kara Memi style” (Ottoman floral style): tulips, carnations, hyacinths, roses and blossoming fruit trees rendered in fresh colour and gold, often with a bent, wind-tossed tulip as his signature. His masterpiece is the illumination of the Divan-ı Muhibbi (1566), the poetry of Süleyman himself. The vocabulary he invented spread from manuscripts to İznik tiles, kaftans, carpets and the Süleymaniye and Rüstem Paşa mosques, becoming the visual language of the classical Ottoman age.

Works on Matchless Pieces

Divan of Sultan Süleyman (Muhibbi)Süleymanname Illuminations

Related works

Koran Ruestem Pascha 964 H fol 330aDouble page from the "Divan-i Muhibbi" (IÜ Ktp. T.5467)Double page from the "Divan-i Muhibbi" by Suleiman (IÜ…Qur'an manuscriptlabel QS:Len,"Qur'an manuscript"Qur'an manuscriptlabel QS:Len,"Qur'an manuscript"Qur'an manuscriptlabel QS:Len,"Qur'an manuscript"Calligraphic specimen (kit'a) by Shah Mahmud Nishapuri (IUL, FY…Divan von Süleyman I

Works

• Divan of Sultan Süleyman (Muhibbi)
• Süleymanname Illuminations