Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on Wednesday that UNESCO has added the art of miniature, a classical Turkish decorative craft, to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
“Our multinational nomination file of ‘Art of Miniature,’ submitted with Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Uzbekistan, has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, being held online between Dec. 14-19,” the minister said in a statement.
Turkey now has 19 of its cultural elements featured on the list with the addition of miniatures.
“We will decisively continue to preserve, cherish and promote Turkey’s rich cultural values inherited from our deep-rooted history,” Ersoy said.
The miniature is a type of two-dimensional artwork that features small, finely crafted paintings that tell stories or relay information.
During the Ottoman era, those who practiced the craft were known as miniaturists. Historically, miniature styles varied according to the region and their school of art, evolving further with the introduction of Islam. The period's manuscripts were visually illustrated with miniatures.
The Ottoman miniature used visual language to express its cultural diversity, cosmopolitan geography and principles of expression that developed over the centuries.
As the 19th century approached, the craft expanded and began to appear more frequently on walls, canvasses, pieces of wood, ceramics and leather.
Miniaturists mostly painted with quills and organic paints on special paper coated with egg whites, as opposed to the industrial materials used today. The miniaturist would take a cotton sheet of unrefined paper, spread it over a marble surface and straighten it with an ivory press, giving it a luminous appearance. Then the artist would determine what they were going to paint and create a draft on the paper, which they then go over with India ink. The outlines were then filled in with madder dye, known for retaining its vivid color.
With its history spanning hundreds of years, the art of miniature is broadly accepted as a significant part of Turkish history and culture.
