Miniatures of Mihr-u Müşteri Mesnevi (TSMK H. 831 manuscript)

In this master's thesis titled "Miniatures of Mihr-u Müşteri Mesnevi (TSMK H. 831 Manuscript)", the miniatures of a Persian manuscript authored by Assâr-ı Tabrîzî in 778/1377 and copied by Katib Şeyh Muhammed bin Fahraddin Ahmed al-Ansari in 905/1500 are examined. This study, which aims to introduce and analyse the illustrated manuscript, which is preserved in the Topkapı Palace Museum Library with the registration number Treasury 831, by examining the subject, composition, technique and symbolic expressions, consists of six main chapters: 'Introduction', 'Miniatures of Manuscript No. 831', 'Mihr-u Müşteri Manuscripts with Miniatures', 'Evaluation', 'Comparison' and 'Conclusion'. In the introduction chapter, the definition of the subject is given, the publications and researches on the subject are mentioned, the method and order used in the thesis are stated, the life and importance of the author of the work Assâr-ı Tabrizi is mentioned, the story of Mihr-u Müşteri masnavi is briefly introduced and the general history of miniaturised love masnavi is given. Finally, the numerical data of copy H. 831 is presented. In the second part, the 49 miniatures of the manuscript known as Mihr- u Müşteri, numbered TSMK H. 831, are analysed one by one. The miniatures are examined in detail in a catalogue consisting of the subject of the miniature, its description and the picture-text relationship in accordance with the order based on the leaf numbers. In the section titled Mihr-u Müşteri Manuscripts with Miniatures, 28 manuscripts identified and obtained from the illustrated copies of Mihr-u Müşteri Masnavi produced in the Karakoyunlu, Akkoyunlu, Safavid, Uzbek Khanate and Ottoman periods between the 15th and 17th centuries were classified according to their subjects. In the fourth chapter, the subjects, compositions, colours and symbolic elements in the 49 miniatures in the H. 831 manuscript and the other 28 manuscripts are examined and compared with each other. In the fifth section, a brief comparison of the similar subjects and scenes of the miniaturised Mihr-u Müşteri Mesnevis in different themed works in the same and different manuscripts produced in the same and similar periods is made. In the concluding section, the new findings of this study and the place and importance of the miniaturised manuscript of Mihr-u Müşteri H. 831 (14 Shawwal 905/13 May 1500) and the other 28 illustrated copies of Mihr-u Müşteri in Turkish miniature art are given with the findings. In the conclusion, the miniatures of the manuscript of H. 831 dated 13 May 1500 are analysed in depth. In this analysis, as a result of the comparisons made with the other 28 illustrated copies of Mihr-u Müşteri, important findings regarding the aesthetic subtleties, subject depth, composition diversity, symbolism language, technique and style of the H. 831 copy are stated.