ILLUMINATION ART TEZHIP
Illumination performed with gold and paint is a Turkish decorative art with a long and deep-rooted history. Illumination (tezhip) means gilding (meaning decorating with gold) in Turkish. The main theme of illumination is pattern. The patterns are placed on the geometrical shapes which are drawn in a complete mathematical layout. These geometrical shapes have not been changed. The illumination art is brought from Middle Asia by Anatolian Seljukians. The Ottoman illumination art developed by the imperial artists along with the calligraphy. In this decorative art, we often come across with the animal and flower forms designed in a way that does not give any clue of theirorigins, the moving clouds. The illumination is a delicate beauty hid in the details.