Illuminated Ottoman Qur'an Signed by Muhammad Hilmi

Project Details

Illuminated Ottoman Qur’an Signed by Muhammad Hilmi

ILLUMINATED OTTOMAN QUR’AN SIGNED BY MUHAMMAD HILMI

Ottoman Empire

Dated: 1223 A.H. / 1807 C.E.

Dimensions: 17×12 cm.

Arabic manuscript on paper, written in naskh script in soot ink, inner margins ruled with gold, verse endings marked with gold roundels, title and sura headings written in white thulth script on a gold ground, the frontispiece richly decorated with gold, in its original brown leather binding. Minor smudging on the colophon page but the calligrapher’s name and the date clearly legible.

Calligrapher al-Sayyid Muhammad Hilmi was born in the city of Merzifon. His father’s name was Ibrahim. He came to Istanbul to complete his education. He studied calligraphy under the famous court calligrapher Şekerzade Mehmed Efendi (d. 1753) who was sent to Medina by Sultan Ahmed III (r. 1703-1730) to copy the Qur’an written by Sheikh Hamdullah (d. 1520), preserved in the tomb of Prophet Muhammad. Mehmed Hilmi was close to the Ottoman court and served Vizier Tosun Mehmed Pasha when he was the chief of the janissaries (yeniçeri ağası). Please see, Müstakimzade Süleyman Saadeddin Efendi, Tuhfe-i Hattatin, Istanbul, 1928, p. 377.

The present Qur’an is a rare and important example in refined, sharp naskh script, following the style of the famous court calligrapher Hafiz Osman Efendi (d. 1698) who reinterpreted the classical letter proportions established by Sheikh Hamdullah Efendi (d. 1520).

Provenance

From the library of Ove Hassler (1904-87), provost in Linköping, and then his son, Eivind Hassler (1939-2009)

Categories: Calligraphy & Miniatures

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Illuminated Ottoman Qur’an Signed by Muhammad Hilmi

Enquiries