Manuscript in Katı’ Technique in The Library of Ahmed III. Examination of Book Cover Insides

Abstract

Binding: is the protective cover that holds a book or a magazine together. The front and back covers, miklep, sertab, the spine, the inner covers and the headband, form the parts of the binding. Book covers are classified by the material used and analyzed according to their ornamentation techniques. The decoration made by delicately carving the leather and pasting it onto a gold background is called müşebbek or katı’ şemse. The inner covers of bindings appear as leather carvings, on the inner parts of the binding covers and later continued in the form of paper carving, paper carvings were generally emphasized, and leather carving researches were not sufficiently focused on.

The subject of this article Is the covers of manuscripts made in the katı’ technique in The Library of Ahmed III. The art of Katı’ was observed on the inner cover decoration of 5 manuscripts dated 15th and 16th centuries (TSMK, A.242, A.3169, A.1357, A.21, A.1585) in the The Library of Ahmed III. and analyzed in terms of their ornaments using the descriptive research method. To correct the deficiencies in the studies conducted in terms of inner cover decorations, which constitute an important part of bookbinding art, and to document the period characteristics are very important for Turkish art.

There is no information about the seal or the bookbinders on the katı’ art interior covers of the manuscripts. The inner covers of the bindings are bound in brown and cherry-maroon leather. Katı’ technique is seen in the application of borders, brackets, şemse, salbek, miklep, and sertab on the inner covers. In addition, sections of the dendan form in şemse and miklep on the inner cover and the inward folds in the style of Baba Nakkaş on the gussets are characteristics of the Fatih period. A comparison of manuscript interior covers with examples in other libraries was also done. The transitions between centuries in the decoration of the inner covers of 15th and 16th century bindings are not very clear. In each century, the tradition of the previous century continues, and the manuscript inner covers with katı’ art in terms of shape and ornamentation are made in the style of the outer cover, reflecting the binding style and ornamentation program of the period.