Vakıf, kişinin taşınır ya da taşınmaz mallarını hayır yapmak amacıyla kendi belirlediği usuller doğrultusunda bağışlamasıdır. Vakfiyeler ise kısaca bir vakfın koşullarını bildiren belgelerdir. Vakfiyelerde bağışlanan malların nasıl ve kimler tarafından kullanılacağı, nasıl yönetileceği, vakıfta çalışan kişilerin görev ve sorumlulukları, çalışma usulleri, ne kadar aylık alacağı, bu aylıkların hangi kaynaklardan sağlanacağı gibi birçok usul yer almaktadır. Vakfiyeler ait olduğu dönemin, tarihi, kültürel, hukuki ve iktisadi yapısından izler taşıdığı gibi geleneksel Türk kitap sanatlarımızdan hat, tezhip ve konumuz olan ebru örneklerini de içermesi açısından son derece önemlidir. Ebru sanatı; kitre vb. kıvam artırıcılarla yoğunlaştırılmış su üzerine ezilmiş toprak boyaların, at kılından ve gül dalından yapılmış fırçalarla su yüzeyine serpilmesi, biz ya da kıl yardımıyla desen verilmesi ve kâğıda alınmasıyla oluşturulan geleneksel kitap sanatımızdır. Araştırmada Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü Vakıf Kayıtlar Arşivi'nde kasada bulunan elektronik ortama aktarılmış müstakil vakfiyelerdeki ebrular incelenmiştir. Vakfiyeler incelenerek ebru içeren 26 vakfiye örneklem grubunda değerlendirilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda incelenen ebruların sırasıyla cildin en çok yan kâğıdında yer aldığı görülmüştür. Geri kalan örneklerde ise cildin kendisinde (ebrulu cilt) yer almıştır. Ciltte kullanılan ebruların tamamının battal ebrulardan oluştuğu anlaşılmıştır. Diğer örneklerde ise battal ebru, taraklı ebru, şal ebru, gel-git ebru, hatip ebru, kumlu ebru, dalgalı ebru ve su yüzeyine hatip şeklinde bizle boya damlatılarak elde edilen ebrular kullanılmıştır. Örneklerde yer alan ebrulardaki renklerin genellikle canlı olduğu, bazı örneklerde ise yer yer lekelerin oluştuğu görülmüştür

Foundation is the act of disowning one’s own movable and immovable properties willfully and without any intervention, and allocating them perpetually for the sake of charity under the terms and conditions he/she deems fit (Ateş, Bayram, and Özsoy, 1990: 5). In this context, the one who endows is called vâkıf (endower), and the real person or the legal entity being endowed is called mevkûfunaleyh, meşrûtünleh, and masârıf’ül-vakf (Öztürk, 1983: 30). Vakfiye is the document, under which the terms and conditions of a foundation are stipulated. What is stipulated under a vakfiye consists of the terms and conditions concerning about how the constituted foundation was to be managed, what kind of expenditures it was to make, how many people it was to employ, how much salary those employees were to earn, from which sources these salaries were to be provided, to whom and by which method this foundation was to allocate its endowments, etc. (Anonim, 1992: 12065). Vakfiye not only consists of the details of how the foundation services were to be rendered, it also reveals our culture at the time by way of reaching the traces of its era to the present day in terms of legal, geographical, social, economical, religious, etc. characteristics (Ateş, Bayram, and Özsoy, 1990: 5). In addition to all aforementioned characteristics of vakfiyes, they are also important from the point of consisting such Turkish writing crafts as calligraphy, gilding, and our research subject, namely marbling, and that of shedding light to our present time. It may briefly be summarized that, marbling craft is a traditional writing craft of ours, in which crushed ochres are splashed over water, intensified by such thickeners as tragacanth, via brushes made of horsehair and rose brunch, then figured via awl or hair, and then taken onto paper. In addition to being applied as assistive to calligraphy and binding crafts, marbling is also an independently applied branch of craft similar to numerous writing crafts. Constituting the population of the research, Foundation Records Archive of Directorate-General of Foundations is the most noteworthy archive of ours, in which all legal records of the foundations from Principalities Era to Ottoman Era, and up to day throughout the Republican Era. Foundation Records Archive contains documents related with foundations, namely vakfiye, edict, hüccet, berat, consisting of the title-deeds of the foundation properties, as well as the quantities and qualities of the services to be rendered (http://www.vgm.gov.tr). What is intended with this research is to examine marbling within the individual vakfiye contained in the Foundation Records Archive of Directorate-General of Foundations. Individual vakfiye are those belonging to padişahs, sultans, pashas, or to the notables of the state, being retained within a safe, and belonging only to the holders thereof. Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü Vakıf Kayıtlar Arşivinde Bulunan Müstakil… 943 Turkish Studies International Periodical For the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic Volume 10/2 Winter 2015 While the study population of the research consists of the individual vakfiyes, sampling thereof consists of those containing marbling transferred into the electronic environment of the archive. 26 vakfiyes and 35 marbling samples contained therein were respectively assessed under the sampling group. Having examined marbling samples contained in the individual vakfiyes under the sampling group, it was thereby intended to determine to which vakfiyes they are appertained to, time of their preparation, the type of marbling applied thereunto, the colors being used therein, and the current conditions thereof. Research data are limited to the images transferred into the electronic environment, and the information attained about them. 26 vakfiyes having been examined were dated between Hijri 898 / Gregorian 1493 and Hijri 1232 / Gregorian 1817 years. History of 1 vakfiye could not have been accessed via electronic environment. More than 60% of the examined vakfiyes were dated to the 18th Century.Total of those dated to 16th and 17th Centuries comprise nearly one third of the sampling group. 1 vakfiye was dated to 15thCentury, another 1 vakfiye was dated to 19th Century at minimum. It is necessary for anmarbling to be dated thereunto in order to deliver information about the date of its make. In consideration of the probable alteration having been undergone by the marbling during the repair of the bindings thereof, no definite information could have been delivered with respect to their dates.The research contains information about the historical details of vakfiyes possessing marbling, rather than those of marbling themselves. It was seen that, battalmarbling was applied unto nearly one third of the total 35 marbling samples within 26 vakfiyes. They are followed successively by hatipmarblings, and taraklı(combed) marblings. In certain samples, animation by awl was applied after making marblings. Battalmarbling was applied unto all of the vakfiyes bound by marbling papers. Four fifth of marblings were placed unto the side paper, and at the opposite of the binding. Only one fifth of marblings were used in the binding. Mostly leather bindings were used with the examined vakfiye samples. In consideration of the distribution of the dates of vakfiyes and the types of marblings, battal and hatipmarblings were seen the most as being dated to 18th Century, taraklı(combed) marblings were seen the most as being dated to 17th Century, gel-git (tidal) marblings were seen the most as being dated to 17th and 18th Centuries, şal (shawl) marblings were seen the most as being dated to 18th Century, kumlumarblings were seen the most as being dated to 18th Century, wavymarblings were seen the most as being dated to 16th Century, and marblings made by way of immersing dyes by awl onto the surface of the water in the shape of hatip were seen the most as being dated to 18th Century. Besides, there arebattalmarbling samples dated to each and every century. In consideration of the colors used therein, lahore and oxide red were the ones having been used the most. Brown, indigoblue, white, purple, and oil green were the colors having been used the least. Spotting dye was used in the dyes applied thereunto in some of the samples. Dyes added with naphtha are used instead nowadays. Despite all fading and wearing happened to some of marblings, 944 Pınar TOKTAŞ Turkish Studies International Periodical For the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic Volume 10/2 Winter 2015 especially in the bindings, marblings generally preserve the vividness of their colors. Some samples were found to be partly spotted. Knowledge delivered about the samples are limited to the images transferred to the electronic environment, and to the knowledge attained respectively. It is pleasing to find the information about the images being accessible in the electronic environment. Accessibility of vakfiyes in the electronic environment will allow easier conduct of scientific and artistic studies. A restoration and conservation unit to be recruited within the institution will contribute to the preservation of the vakfiyes and other historical documents and works without getting damaged, and to the passing of them to the future generations. Despite numerous scientific and artistic studies having been done in the field of marbling, there is no study available concerning the marblings contained in the vakfiyes. That is why this research is expected to contribute to the aforementioned field.