These were all in a marvellous Istanbul museum where photos were allowed;
there were few signs I could read, so I trust its not
offending anyone to show them.
Each is the most wonderful
masterpiece
possibly most would be a group effort, with paper makers, binders,
calligraphy, painters, gilders, marbellers etc
even without understanding a word, its possible to recognise a certain hand,
or time/script
& to enjoy the pleasure they found
in their work
also how all these books were so carefully preserved
& valued to this day for their beauty
some covers were tooled leather
I was there for days, not ideal lighting, yet they
must have been painted by candlelight, sometimes.
(more coming)
a good site for history of Istanbul & all over Turkey
