The Lotus Illustration in a Manichaean Manuscript

Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum, Samuel N.C.Lieu,Enrico Morano, Editör, Brepols Publishers , Antwerp, ss.45-66, 2024

Book illumination was very significant to the Turfan Manichaean community in Central Asia.

Mani, the prophet, gave particular importance to describing certain religious scenes to tell his

message clearly to his followers. There are many beautiful and precious illuminated remains

from Manichaean peoples. These Manichaean remains were introduced during the Turfan

German Expeditions at the beginning of the 20th century. Even though today there are numerous

remains from Turfan Manichaeans, most of them are unfortunately fragmentary. This article

presents one of these fragmentary manuscripts: MIK III 4983, a gold-decorated headline

surrounded by lotus flowers. Furthermore, we posit an argument regarding this illustration’s

design and production process and try to connect with later centuries. The manuscript has not

previously been studied by its design patterns and the improvement of the lotus flower design.

In the manuscript, the lotus flower and its parts are considered a unit similar to later centuries’

flower designs in the Iranian and Turkish traditional book illustrations in Asia Minor.