Album of Calligraphies Including Poetry and Prophetic Traditions (Hadith)

Album of Calligraphies Including Poetry and Prophetic Traditions (Hadith)

Album of Calligraphies Including Poetry and Prophetic Traditions (Hadith)

Calligrapher:Shaikh Hamdullah ibn Mustafa Dede (d. 1520)
Object Name:Non-illustrated manuscript
Date:ca. 1500
Geography:Made in Turkey, probably Istanbul
Medium:Main support: ink, watercolor, and gold on paper
Margins: ink, watercolor and gold; marbled paper
Binding: leather and gold
Dimensions:Ht. 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm)
W. 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm)
Classification:Codices
Credit Line:Purchase, Edwin Binney 3rd and Edward Ablat Gifts, 1982

This album contains samples written by Shaykh Hamdullah, the most famous Ottoman calligrapher. The text comes from the Hadith, the compilation of the Prophet Muhammad's words and deeds that is an important source for moral and legal guidance in the Islamic tradition. On each page, several lines of a small script (naskh) are framed by one or two lines in a larger script (thuluth or muhaqqaq) and then pasted onto sheets of marbleized paper, each with a different pattern.

Provenance
Philip Hofer, Cambridge, MA (until 1982; sold to MMA)