Shiraz

Only the golden age of the Ottoman Empire could have produced such a masterwork of bookbinding.This sixteenth century Islamic binding was originally crafted from black goatskin that was embossed, gilded, painted and covered with delicate gold filigree. Said to have been first commissioned by one of the art - minded Safavid princes of Shiraz, it came to be in the possession of Suleiman the Magnificent,The tenth and longest- reigning Sultan of the Empire.
In its original form this book cover was decorated with rows of golden lockets, hand painted with flowers and rosettes , and overlaid with filigree.Artists of Persia's Safavid dynasty (1501-1722) ensured that its bookbinding and decor represented a pinnacle of cultural achievement.