Turkish Miniatures in the 16th Century

Turks had the tradition to illustrate manuscripts during the cultural periods before Islamic belief. Paper that could be rolled started to be made in China with plant fibers in 105 B.C. No written or illustrated document has yet been found from the time of the Chinese Han dynasty, of Huns and G÷kt’rks.

Nevertheless, the large quantities of stone engravings, textiles, ceramics, works of art made of metal, wood, leather which have survived to the present day, prove that the above mentioned cultural circles were quite developed in other fields of art. The oldest examples of Turkish pictures for walls are from the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th centuries. The withering influence of natural conditions have prevented the survival of these first examples.