( fl 1520/21; d ?Istanbul, ?1555–6). Ottoman artist. A master in the imperial Ottoman painting studio, he played a leading role in formulating the saz style that characterized the high court art produced under sultan Süleyman (reg 1520–66; see ISLAMIC ART, §III, 4(vi)(e)). This style, in which mythical creatures derived from Chinese or Islamic sources move through an enchanted forest made up of oversized composite blossoms and feathery leaves, has parallels in the art of the Aqqoyunlu and Safavid courts at Tabriz, where Shahquli trained under a master named Aqa Mirak. He was later exiled from the city, going to Amasya in central Anatolia. From there he moved to Istanbul, where he joined the imperial painting studio in December 1520 or January 1521; by 1526 he was receiving a daily wage of 22 silver pence (akçe). According to the historian Mustafa Ali, writing in 1586, Shahquli was given an independent studio where the sultan liked to watch him work. By 1545 Shahquli was head of the ‘Anatolian’ (Rumi) section of the studio. About the same time he presented the sultan with several items, including a representation of a peri on paper. A note in a list of gifts made by the sultan to his court artists in 1555–6 states that Shahquli had died before the gift could be presented to him.