Album of Calligraphies Including Poetry and Prophetic Traditions (Hadith)

Shaikh Hamdullah ibn Mustafa Dede

ca. 1500 · Main support: ink, watercolor, and gold on paper Margins: ink, watercolor, and gold on marbled paper Binding: leather and gold · Islamic Art

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.

Artist

Shaikh Hamdullah ibn Mustafa Dede

Date

ca. 1500

Medium

Main support: ink, watercolor, and gold on paper Margins: ink, watercolor, and gold on marbled paper Binding: leather and gold

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, Edwin Binney 3rd and Edward Ablat Gifts, 1982