Miniature Painting

Very small paintings painted on materials such as paper, fabric, parchment, ivory, wood, etc are called miniatures. The word miniature comes from the Latin word minium which was the name for the lead oxide that was used for producing red paint in the Middle Age. In miniature, which has developed as a book picture art, anatomy, depth, light and shadow principles are not taken into account and perspective and dimensioning does not exist.

The oldest examples of Turkish miniature art that can currently be found within the archives of the Topkapı Palace belong to 8th and 9th century before Turks became Muslims on which Uyghur prince and princesses, Mani and Uyghur priests are represented. Other examples that might have represented the evolution of the Turkish miniature art into the 13th century have not survived until today.

During the Ottoman Empire, the art of miniature was called nakış (embroidery) or tasvir (description) and the artists were called nakkaş or mussavvir. With the changes made under the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent, Turkish miniature art was separated from the Islamic miniature art because with conquests, military expeditions, accessions, hosting foreign ambassadors, holiday celebrations and other important occasions, painting historical events becomes a professional position called şehnâmecilik. With the rise of the westernization movement in the 19th century, the art of miniature started to give place to the classic western