Editor´s Excerption Picks: "Cloud Papers for Philip Taaffe"

by Peter Lamborn Wilson

"...Islam does not “ban the image.” On the contrary, it symbolizes itself by an image, the crescent and star. Arabesque and crystal are images. But Islam exercises extreme care that the image not colonize the imagination. Indiscriminate imagism opens the floodgates of the trivial and leaves the mind passive to an onslaught of persuasion and unconsciousness. Image becomes a substitute for lived experience; absorption of imagery takes the place of the living creative imagination. Images are parasites that kill the host. (Advertising offers perhaps the most perfect example.)

Vegetative and crystalline forms are not mere “decorative motifs,” but rather the very subject matter of Islamic art and architecture—the images of a culture that eschews and distrusts imagery. This misunderstanding about decoration leads to a great deal of superfluous writing by Western art historians who judge everything by Western values and categories, thus forcing all flowers toward the sun of realism, even those that bloom in the moon of dreams.

Islamic miniaturists, for instance, do not use perspective. Western art historians have actually accused them of failing to evolve toward scientific perspective, due to the “religious ban” on imagery. But lack of perspective in miniatures represents not failure but refusal. By extending the image in time rather than in space the miniaturist refuses to lure the viewer’s unconscious into the idolatry of mistaking representations for things. The miniature is liberated from the tyranny of a perspective that consequently never appears.

In reality the miniature serves a minor decorative function as an embellishment of the book. The central art form in Islam is writing, with the ancillary arts that serve it, especially calligraphy. Writing itself is sacred, and Moslems (like Jews) preserve every scrap of it, not just Koran and Torah, because the Arabic and Hebrew letters themselves are revealed and cabbalistic. Although the Koran was transmitted orally (the Prophet was “unlettered”), it symbolized creation itself as the work of a primordial Pen and Tablet: the writing of being on the paper of becoming: another yang/yin combination.

The mysticism of writing was carried to an extreme in the twelfth century by the sect of the Hurufis (also known as the Abecedarians or Letterists). They traced letters in the shapes of human faces, noble animals, and plants and trees: the alphabet of Revelation revealed in the alphabet of Nature. Hurufi doctrines were condemned as heretical but survived amongst the Sufi orders (especially the Turkish Bektashis), who created a beautiful new art form of calligrams —heraldic devices made entirely of letters.

Western art tends to separate the arabesque from the crystal, the Baroque from the Neoclassical, and even to value one over the other—whereas Islamic art tends toward a coincidencia oppositorum, a mystical reconciliation or harmony. In this it resembles Romanticism. But “Oriental Romanticism” (to coin a phrase) never had to deal with an Enlightenment or react against any “cruel instrumentality of Reason.” Oriental Romanticism is one of the sources of Western Romanticism but lacks its agonistic aspect, its subjection to history. In Islamic art the rose and the star have never been rendered unintelligible to each other because they are seen as signs of each other.

The Koran describes Nature as “God’s Waymarks . . . signs on the horizon for those of discernment.” Nature is a revelation that requires hermeneutic exegesis to uncover its meaning, much like the Koran itself—with one important difference. Alphabetic writing functions as a complete semiotic system in which signs do not change their meaning, while the alphabet of Nature is an incomplete or indefinite system that requires for its “reading” either revelation or esoteric transmission of meanings.

Some forms of writing seem to share elements of both alphabetism and naturalism (for want of better terms). They stand somewhat outside the semiotic in that they use written signs but meanings are assigned by esoteric transmission. In this category belong the Neolithic signs such as the incised rocks of megalithic Ireland and Brittany. The esoteric keys to these writings are lost and they cannot be deciphered. The wampum of the Iroquois was not only money but also writing, and in this case the elders responsible for decipherment have preserved the keys in collective memory. The enigmatic Effigy Mounds of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio, are written on the pages of the landscape, interpreting Nature while becoming part of it. Keys may be preserved amongst certain Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) elders, but they’re not talking to anthropologists and archaeologists. If the keys to European heraldry were lost, its blazons would appear just as enigmatic and tantalizing.

Here meaning seems to hover behind a thin veil in these lost sign systems, in somewhat the same way that meaning seems to lurk behind the scrim of Nature itself. This blind immanence of significance resembles the sensations associated with certain phantastica or hallucinogenic drugs. In fact one theory of the marked stones at the megalithic sites of Newgrange and Gavrinis attributes them to entoptic hallucinations of the carvers, to a kind of Soma Function that is rooted in the body. Entoptic patterns include both arabesque and crystal forms and can be induced by pressing one’s closed eyelids. They seem to be common to all cultures, and are patterns which can be enhanced by psychotropic agents.

In the West the doctrine of signatures (or occult correspondences) goes underground with the failure of hermeticism versus “modern science,” in the paradigm wars of the sixteenth century. It persists in occult circles and resurfaces as aesthetic theory in the Romantic era. Baudelaire and Rimbaud speak of correspondences but few take them seriously. Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus (real name Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) and Jakob Böhme are all but forgotten; the world sees itself through Cartesian eyes as a brain surrounded by dead automata.

Without synesthesia (the perception of sound as color, for example, or of form as meaning) the imagination could never arrive at a system of correspondences or even at a concept of symbolization. The alphabet itself is deeply implicated in such magical doubling (or splitting) of consciousness. Our Greco-Roman letters are all derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics, and writing itself is a form of magic as “action at a distance.”

Thus even colors can be read for meaning, as in the elaborate series of correspondences in the writings of Charles Fourier, or in Rimbaud’s “Sonnet of the Vowels.” The attempt of Goethe and certain proponents of Naturphilosophie to preserve color as substance rather than accident represents a last-ditch defense of hermeticism against Cartesianism and its disenchantment of the landscape, its denial of the soul of the earth. When Goethe called out on his deathbed for “More light!” was he asking for more Enlightenment or for more luminousness?..."

Poet, writer, essayist and translator, Peter Lamborn Wilson's work has been translated into dozens of languages, widely disseminated on the internet, and in the alternative press. He spent a decade living and traveling throughout India, Afghanistan, and Iran, and has written extensively on Islamic history, culture, and society. He is an editor at Autonomedia, and has been a radio personality in the New York region through his Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade on WBAI-FM. His books include The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry, Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs and European Renegadoes, Ploughing the Clouds: The Search for Irish Soma, Avant Gardening: Ecological Struggle in the City & the World, Sacred Drift: Essays on the Margins of Islam, Escape from the Nineteenth Century and Other Essay, and Gone to Croatan: Origins of North American Dropout Culture.

Excerpt from essay by P.L.Wilson © http://www.philiptaaffe.info/Critical_Commentary/PLW.php

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Osman Özcay (b.1963)

Calligrapher Osman Özçay, younger brother of calligrapher Mehmed Özcay, was born in Çaykara, in the province of Trabzon in 1963. He attended the same school as his brother Mehmet in Gerede and finished high-school there. After studying at the Islamic Institute in Erzurum for two years, he transferred to the Islamic Studies Department of Marmara University in Istanbul. He graduated in 1986.

In 1982, even though he did not have a special interest in Islamic calligraphy, he joined his brother when he first visited calligrapher Fuat Başar. He was suddenly attracted to the art and he started lessons in the script Thuluth the same day. He later received his diploma in the scripts of thuluth and naskh from his teacher.

When he came to Istanbul, he met M.Uğur Derman from whom he has benefited greatly throughout the years. Mr. Derman gave him some copies of Sami Efendi`s Jali Thuluth writings which were written for a public water fountain behind `Yeni Cami` (New Mosque) in Istanbul. These sources served as the most important guide in learning the script of Jali Thuluth.

In the first (1986) and second (1989) international competitions organized by The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) which serves as the secretaryship of The Commission for the Preservation of Islamic Cultural Heritage associated with the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, he received five awards, gaining second and third prizes in various scripts including Jali Thuluth and Thuluth. He won the first prize at the calligraphy competition organized by the Maktab al-Shahid Kuwaiti institute in 1997.

Osman Özçay has participated in personal exhibitions with his brother Mehmet Özçay in Istanbul (1996), Abu Dhabi (1998), Sharjah (1999), and Dubai (2003). He has also taken part in the exhibitions organized by IRCICA in association with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai 2003, 2004 and 2005. In 2003, he participated in the calligraphy exhibition in Tokyo and joined some other calligraphers on The Days of Arabic Calligraphy in Tunisia in 1997 and 2006. He has also participated in various exhibitions in Turkey and abroad.

Osman Özçay is producing works in the styles of thuluth, jali thuluth, naskh and muhaqqaq according to the classical approach. Throughout the years his pieces of calligraphy have entered museums and special collections.

Text/Photograph © http://www.ozcay.com/

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Mehmed Özcay (b. 1961)

Mehmed Özçay was born in 1961 in the Çaykara district of the province of Trabzon, in Turkey. He completed his elementary and secondary education in Gerede, subsequently graduating from the School of Theology of Atatürk University, Erzurum, in 1986. He studied naskh and thulth scripts with the calligrapher Fuat Başar, whom he met there in 1982. In 1986, he moved to İstanbul where he met M. Uğur Derman, who became his guide in calligraphy; this gave him the opportunity to broaden his horizons and deepen his appreciation for, and knowledge of, this art.

In 1986 and 1989, Özçay participated in the first two international calligraphy competitions organized by the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), winning six prizes in various categories, most notably First Prize in thulth-naskh scripts. He began to copy the Holy Qur’an in 1986; completed in 1991 and first published in 1992, that work has played a key role in the development of his mastery of naskh script, and more generally in the establishment of his career as a professional calligrapher. Fine art reproductions of his copy of the Surat Ya-Sin, as well many of his panels, have also been published.

Özçay participated in many exhibitions, both in Turkey and internationally—including the Kazema Festival for Islamic Heritage (Kuwait, 1996), the Islamic World Calligraphy Festival (Tehran, 1997), Seven Ottoman Arts that have Lived Beyond 700 Years (İstanbul, 1999), the Riyadh Calligraphy Exhibition (1999), the Holy Qur’an Exhibition (Tehran, 2000), the National Calligraphy Festival (Tunis, 2001), the Tokyo Calligraphy Exhibition (2003), Salam & Calligraphy (Doha, 2003), the Sharjah International Biennal for Arabic Calligraphy (2004), the Dubai International Calligraphy Exhibitions (2004, 2005, 2006), and the Tunis Arabic Calligraphy Days (1999, 2006).

Mehmed Özçay’s first individual show was held in conjunction with his brother Osman Özçay and his sister Fatma Özçay in May 1996 at the Yıldız Palace, İstanbul. He subsequently partook in the “Özçay” exhibitions at the National Culture Foundation (İstanbul, 1998), in Doha (November 1998), Abu Dhabi (December 1998), Sharjah (1999), and Dubai (2003). He has also served as a member of the jury in a number of international calligraphy competitions.

More than 300 of Mehmed Özçay’s calligraphic panels in jali thulth, thulth, naskh, ijazah, and jali diwani scripts are currently in various collections both in Turkey and abroad.

Text/Photograph © Mehmed Özcay. http://www.ozcay.com/

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Hamid Aytac [Azmi, Musa; al-Amidi, Hamid] (1891-1982)

(b Diyarbakir, 1891; d Istanbul, 10 May 1982). Turkish calligrapher. Originally called Musa Azmi, he was the grandson of Seyyid Adem, a famous calligrapher of Diyarbakir. He practised writing in Diyarbakir with his school teacher Mustafa Akif Tütenk and others, and in 1908 went to Istanbul to continue his education, first at the School of Law and then at the Fine Arts Academy. However, he was soon forced to give up his studies to earn a living. In 1910 he became a writing teacher at the Gülsen school in Istanbul, where he taught the calligrapher Halim Özyazici. He went on to direct the Rusumat press and then worked at the press of the Military Academy in Istanbul. During World War I he worked for one year in Germany, where he prepared military maps. After the war he resigned his job and began to work independently. He changed his name to Hamid Aytaç, and in the early years of the Turkish republic made labels and calling cards. As a calligrapher he practised the jali-thuluth (Turk. celi-sülüs) style with Mehmed Nazif (1846–1913), the naskh and thuluth styles with Kamil Akdic (1862–1941) and the ta`liq style with Mehmed Hulusi (1869–1940). He worked on a number of magnificent manuscripts, including Korans. He also worked at the Sisli Mosque in Istanbul and on other buildings in Istanbul and Ankara.

Text/Photograph © Macmillan Publishers Limited, publishers of The Grove Dictionary of Art.

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Notable Readings: Açıklamalı Hüsn-i Hat Bibliyografyası Yazmalar - Kitaplar - Makaleler Kitaplarda Hatla İlgili Bölümler Dış Ülkelerdeki Yayınlar

Açıklamalı Hüsn-i Hat Bibliyografyası Yazmalar - Kitaplar - Makaleler Kitaplarda Hatla İlgili Bölümler Dış Ülkelerdeki Yayınlar, Ali Haydar Bayat(Editor); Foreword by: Ekmeleddin İhsanoglu,IRCICA Yayınları (Publications); İstanbul, 2002, 14 x 20 cm., xxxıv+416 p. Turkish,ISBN 929063126

This book gives a comprehensive bibliography of manuscripts, books, articles, the parts of books related to calligraphy as well as publications that appeared on calligraphy abroad. In the foreword, Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu underlines the importance of this art for the Islamic world and the characteristics that make it unique among other arts. He then dwells on various activities of IRCICA in the field of calligraphy since its establishment 1980, in the form of research, publications, training programs, competitions and exhibitions. He points out that the bibliographic studies of the literature on calligraphy are a major part of the studies in this field. The book also includes a brief preface by Ali Haydar Bayat and an introduction by Prof. M. Uğur Derman. The present bibliography is the revised and enlarged version of the first edition covering the years of 1888-1988 and published in 1990.

This bibliography is organized in the following way: Part I gives information on the manuscripts located in the libraries in Turkey and related to calligraphy. Part II brings together the printed works in Arab and Latin characters. Part III presents the list of books and articles, newspapers and sections on calligraphy and their subjects [....] were added at the end of the bibliographic heading. Part IV brings together the catalogues of auctions covering the subjects of calligraphy, calligraphers and materials of calligraphy. Part V brings together the works on calligraphy written outside of Turkey. Part VI presents those articles that were published outside of Turkey and that were available to the author. Part VII includes the necessary addresses for reaching the studies on calligraphy through the Internet. Part VII also contains the indices of authors, calligraphers, books and periodicals covering the articles on calligraphy, different styles and materials of calligraphy. This reference book appears as the most voluminous one of the bibliographies that were compiled till the present day since it covers almost the entire literature in Turkey on this subject.

A Collectors´ Vision - Ugur Derman

Professor M. Ugur Derman's name is synonymous with calligraphy and marbling. Though he majored in pharmacy as a profession he has rather spent most of his 71 years of life on calligraphy and book arts. More than anyone in his generation, Ugur Derman is responsible for the survival of the arts of the book in Turkey, and for the recent resurgence in their appreciation. He is a student of Necmeddin Okyay (1883-1976) but has also benefited from Macid Ayral (1891-1961), Halim Özyazci (1898-1964), and Süheyl Ünver (1898-1986). Since 1962, he has written more than 350 articles, conference proceedings, and encyclopedia items, in addition to his 13 books on the subject. He is currently teaching at both Marmara and Mimar Sinan Universities in Istanbul.

Photograph ©http://www.kitabat.org/

Calligraphic Art in The Library of Congress: Ottoman Calligraphers and Their Works

This collection presents 355 Arabic calligraphy sheets, ranging from the 9th to the 19th centuries, including examples of calligraphic art - illuminated panels, albums, and poems. In addition to individual calligraphy sheets, the presentation has essays on Ottoman and Persian calligraphic styles, an in-depth look at Qur’anic calligraphic fragments, and an essay discussing some of the Library’s notable Arabic script calligraphy sheets and illuminations.

During the late 1920s, early 1930s, and 1990s the Library of Congress acquired a large collection of Arabic script calligraphy sheets. This presentation exhibits 355 Arabic calligraphy sheets, ranging from the 9th to the 19th centuries. A majority of the calligraphy sheets were written on paper, however, a group of Qur’anic fragments from the 9th and 10th centuries were executed on parchment.

Text © The Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/intldl/intldlhome.html, http://memory.loc.gov/intldl/apochtml/apochome.html

Calligrapher: unknown (c.1550-1600)

Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 9.5 (w) x 19 (h) cm

Script: Ottoman naskh

This fragment contains on the top line the last two verses (ayat) of the last chapter (surah) of the Qur'an, entitled Surat al-Nas (Chapter of Mankind). This particular chapter extols seeking refuge in the Lord from Satan, who, like the spirits (al-jinn), whispers evil things in the hearts of people (116:5-6). The verses at the top of the folio are separated by two ayah markers shaped like gold disks with five blue dots on their peripheries.

Immediately below the last verse of the Qur'an appears a prayer in five lines praising God, the Prophet Muhammad, and all Prophets (or messengers, al-mursilin) of Islam. The continuation of this terminal du'a (or formulaic prayer) continues in illuminated bands on the folio's verso (see 1-85-154.74 V and James 1992b: 178-9, cat. no. 43). The prayer is beautifully calligraphed in large Ottoman naskh in alternating gold and blue ink.

This prayer is said upon completion of the Qur'an (al-du'a ba'd khatim al-Qur'an), in which God is praised as the all-hearing (al-sami') and the all-knowing (al-'alim). It continues the initial, non-illuminated five-line prayer on the folio's recto (1-85-154.74 R) and serves as an appropriate closing to the Holy Book. In some cases, illuminated terminal prayers in rectangular bands such as this one precede a four-page treatise on how to practice divination (fal) using the letters of the Qur'an (see 1-84.154.42 R).

Although only one illuminated folio remains, it originally would have created a double-page illuminated du'a. This layout is typical of Safavid Persian Qur'ans from the second half of the 16th century (see James 1992b: 178-9, cat. no. 43), as well as Ottoman Turkish Qur'ans from the same period. For instance, a similar prayer appears immediately at the end of an Ottoman Turkish Qur'an dated 980/1573, now held in the Keir Collection in London, England (VII.49; Robinson 1976, 294). Due to similarities in script (in which three lines of text in gold alternate with a line in white ink), composition, and illumination, the prayer fragment here probably dates from the second half of the 16th century as well.

Photograph ©Abdel Kader Haidara,Bibliotheque Mamma Haidara de Manuscrits et la Documentation. Siège: Tombouctou BP 71 RPp.du Mali.

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Abdulvehhap Zihni Efendi

Abdulvehhap Zihni, dated A.H.1264 (C.E.1847) Mevlawi crown, 23x17.5 cm.

Photograph © Macka Mezat, Istanbul

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Yahya Sufi [b.? -d.1477]

Tile panel by Yahya Sufi of celi sülüs kufi script, Fatih Cami (Mosque) Istanbul.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

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Ali Raif Efendi

Dimensions of Sheet: 28 (w) x 21 (h) cm

Script: thuluth and naskh

This ijazah, or diploma of competency in Arabic calligraphy, was written by 'Ali Ra'if Efendi in 1206/1791. The top and middle panels contain a Saying (Hadith) attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. It reads:

Secret charity quenches the wrath of the Lord. / The best of you is the best for his family. / The best of the followers is Uways.

In the two lowermost panels appear the signed approvals of two master calligraphers, Mustafa al-Halimi and Husayn Hamid ( Selim 1979, 173), dated 1206/1791. Each section of writing appears on a separate piece of differently colored paper, illuminated with gold and dimpled with a stylus for reflection.

The official function of the ijazah consists in giving a student the authority to sign his own calligraphic works with expressions such as katabahu (written by) and hararahu (composed by), thus allowing him to become independent and take on pupils of his own. In order to receive the diploma, the student had to transcribe or copy (taqlid) several lines of calligraphy that had to be approved by one or more co-signatory master calligraphers (Safwat 1996, 40). In some cases, the ijazah may include the calligrapher's chain of teachers (silsilah or sanad) reaching all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad himself (Gacek 1989: 44-55). In the Ottoman tradition especially, the calligraphic diploma (icazetname) was a well established practice linking, in an almost genealogical fashion, a student (talabah) to his teacher (hoca).

Photograph © Abdel Kader Haidara,Bibliotheque Mamma Haidara de Manuscrits et la Documentation. Siège: Tombouctou BP 71 RPp.du Mali

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Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

By Sami Efendi panel of zerendud celi talik script.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

By Sami Efendi panel of zerendud celi sülüs script.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

By Sami Efendi inscription of Fesciler Carsisi (Grand Bazaar,Istanbul) of celi tarik script.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

Epitaph of Cemberlitas Atikalipasa Cami (entrance door) of celi sülüs script.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

By Sami Efendi panel of celi sülüs zerendud scriptin Aksaray Valide Sultan Cami (Mosque) Istanbul.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

Sami Efendi panel of celi sülüs script, Türk Petrol Vakfi Collection.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

By Sami Efendi inscription of celi sülüs script in Sehzadebasi Cami (Mosque) Istanbul.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

By Sami Efendi inscription on paper of celi sülüs script, Süleyman Berk Collection.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

By Sami Efendi signed and dated framed panel of celi sülüs script in Merkez Efendi Cami (Mosque) Istanbul.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

Epitaph by Sami Efendi of celi sülüs script at Yeni Cami (Mosque)Istanbul.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sami Efendi [b.1838-d.1912]

(b Istanbul, 13 March 1838; d Istanbul, 1 July 1912). Ottoman calligrapher. He was the son of Mahmud Efendi, the head of the quilt-makers guild. Sami learnt ta‛līq script from the calligraphers Kibriszade Ismail Hakkı Efendi and Ali Haydar Bey (1802–70) and thuluth script from Boşnak Osman Efendi. He was also inspired by the work of Mustafa Raqim. Sami’s fine inscriptions and calligraphic compositions adorn several mosques and fountains in Istanbul. He trained such calligraphers as Necmeddin Okyay and Ahmed Kamil Akdik (1861–1941) and was buried in the cemetery of the Fatih Mosque, Istanbul.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ş. Rado: Türk hattatları [Turkish calligraphers] (Istanbul, n.d.), pp. 239–41
U. Derman: Hattat Sami Efendi (1838–1912): Hayatı ve eserleri [The calligrapher Sami Efendi (1838–1912): his life and works] (Istanbul, 1962) By Sami Efendi, dated and signed zerendud sülüs script panel.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp Text: http://www.groveart.com.ubproxy.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/

Ayten Tiryaki (b. 1961)

By Ayten Tiryaki, signed and dated, inscription on paper of verses from The Holy Book. (Qur'an 2:255) Ayat al-Kursi (The Throne Verse).

Translation: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.Allah! There is no God but He,the Living, the Self-subsisting, the Eternal.No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep.All things in heaven and earth are His.Who could intercede in His presence without His permission?He knows what appears in front of and behind His creatures.Nor can they encompass any knowledge of Him except what he wills.His throne extends over the heavens and the earth,and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them,for He is the Highest and Most Exalted.Allah, the Most High, speaks the truth.

Photograph ©http://www.tiryakiart.com/tr_index.asp

Ayten Tiryaki (b. 1961)

(b 1961 in Ordu/Turkey). Calligrapher and active in Istanbul. She graduated from Ankara University,Theologion Faculty with MA degree in 1983. Ayten Tiryaki took calligraphy lessons from calligrapher Hasan ÇELEBİ in 1983. She started to study Tezhip (Turkish-Islamic Decorative Art) in Kubbealtı Academy in 1984, continiued her studies with Prof.Dr.Çiçek DERMAN and İnci Ayan BİROL. She got the certificate of Tezhip from Prof.Dr.Çiçek DERMAN in 1986. She joined mixed exhibitions in Turkey and abroad. She got an encouragement prize of branch of Nasih in the 5 th of International Calligraphy Competition which was organized by İRCİCA, Istanbul. A list of exhibitions can be found on her website. After she worked as a teacher in religious schools which were related to Üsküdar and Ümraniye Department of Religious Affairs in Istanbul, she got retired in 2004. She opened a mixed exhibition with her students in Altunizade Culture Center in 2004 where she is organizing calligraphy and tezhip courses and continiues her art studies with her students. She is married and lives with her 3 children in Istanbul.

Contact:
Namık Kemal Mahallesi Yunus Emre Caddesi Kocatepe Sokak
Doğu Apartmanı No:6/9
Ümraniye/ İstanbul
Tel :+90 (216) 329 52 29
Fax :+90 (216) 329 52 30
GSM :+90 (542) 322 39 48
E-Mail : ayten@tiryakiart.com

Photograph ©http://www.tiryakiart.com/tr_index.asp

Selim Türkoglu (b.1960)

(b 1960, Erzincan, Turkey) Calligrapher and active in Istanbul, Turkey. He took his calligraphy master of Sülüs ve Nesih script from Ali Selcuk Erkurt. In Ta’lik script he was inspired and guided by Prof. Ali Alparslan. He was awarded by Cultural Ministry of Turkey in the branch of art of perfect calligraphy. Selim Türkoglu is continuing his works fastidiously to present. He is the founder of Gallery SER in Istanbul, where he works and teaches calligraphy. His works can be found in various collections both in Turkey and abroad.The artist established many solo exhibitons. He also participated in very many group exhibitions.


Contact:
Galeri SER ÇERÇEVE & SANATEVİ
Divanyolu caddesi Ticarethane sk. 14/4 Cağaloğlu,Istanbul, Tel + 90 21 514 61 25

Text/Photograph ©http://www.hattatselim.com/index.htm

Sultan Abdulhamid II Collection - Photography Archive

The Abdul-Hamid collection photography archive contains over 1,800 photographs from the Ottoman Empire. Dating from approximately 1880 to 1893, the images show scenes within the borders of modern Turkey, as well as Ottoman provinces in Greater Syria, Greece and modern Iraq. The photos in the collection were originally presented to the Library of Congress by Sultan Abdul-Hamid II in 1894.

This monumental collection portrays the Ottoman Empire during the reign of one of its last sultans, Abdul-Hamid II. The 1,819 photographs in 51 large-format albums date from about 1880 to 1893. They highlight the modernization of numerous aspects of the Ottoman Empire, featuring images of educational facilities and students; well-equipped army and navy personnel and facilities; technologically advanced lifesaving and fire fighting brigades; factories; mines; harbors; hospitals; and government buildings. Most of the places depicted are within the boundaries of modern-day Turkey, but buildings and sites in Iraq, Lebanon, Greece and other countries are also included.

The images are well displayed on dedicated pages and are available as thumbnails. The main drawback of the website is its organisation as there is no comprehensive index of subjects linked to the home page. However, despite this the collection is still an excellent resource. The photographs give viewers an excellent sense of the Ottoman empire during its final decades.

Photograph © Title: Abdulhamit II, Sultan of the Turks, 1842-1918. Half lgth., standing, right profile. George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).Library Of Congress. Prints and Photographic Division, http://memory.loc.gov/pp/pphome.html

Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi [b.?- d.1829]

By Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi, inscription on paper of sülüs script. Hilyah [description of the Prophet (Allah Bless him and grant him peace)].

Top section:
"In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate"

Upper text circular area is surrounded by four small disks containing the names of the first four Caliphs or successors to the Prophet Muhammad, i.e., Abu Bakr (upper right), `Umar (upper left), `Uthman (lower right), and `Ali (lower left). Each disk contains in small letters the blessing, “May God be pleased with him.”

Upper text translation:
Umm Ma`bad, describing the messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace), said, "I saw a man, pure and clean, with a handsome face and a fine figure. He was not marred by a skinny body, nor was he overly small in the head and neck. He was graceful and elegant, with intensely black eyes and thick eyelashes. There was a huskiness in his voice, and his neck was long. His beard was thick, and his eyebrows were finely arched and joined together. When silent, he was grave and dignified, and when he spoke, glory rose up and overcame him. He was from afar the most beautiful of men and the most glorious, and close up he was the sweetest and the loveliest. He was sweet of speech and articulate, but not petty or trifling. His speech was a string of cascading pearls, measured so that none despaired of its length.

Middle section:
"We only sent you as a mercy for creation" (Qur'an 21:107). This verse, in which God addresses the Prophet Muhammad, is a fundamental Qur'anic statement about the universal role of the Prophet.

Lower text translation (continues from above):
"and no eye challenged him because of brevity. In company he is like a branch between two other branches, but he is the most flourishing of the three in appearance, and the loveliest in power. He has friends surrounding him, who listen to his words. If he commands, they obey implicitly, with eagerness and haste, without frown or complaint.” May God bless him and grant him peace. God, pray for and grant peace to Muhammad, your servant, your Prophet and your messenger, the illiterate Prophet, and to his family and companions, and grant him peace. Written with the grace of God Most High by Rasheed Butt, may God forgive him.

Text © The Hilya, or the Adornment of the ProphetA Calligraphic Icon Commentary and Translation by Carl W. Ernst,http://www.unc.edu/~cernst/index.html, adapted from Rasheed Butt, http://www.rasheedbutt.com/index.htm
Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi [b.?- d.1829]

By Mahmud Celaleddin, inscription on paper of sülüs celi script. Transcription: (Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib(names of the four rightly-guided Khalifs).Kaya Ücer Collection.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi [b.?- d.1829]

By Mahmud Celaleddin, inscription on paper of celi sülüs script. Mehmet Cebi Collection.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi [b.?- d.1829]

By Mahmud Celaleddin, dated and signed inscription on paper of celi sülüs script, 11x26 cm. "And surely thou hast sublime morals." (al-Kalam/Vers 4)

Photograph © Portakal Sanat ve Kültür Evi, Istanbul.

Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi [b.?- d.1829]

By Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi, signed inscription on paper of celi sülüs script, dated A.H. 1230/C.E. 1814, 40x65. Transcription: Muhammad RasulAllah. Translation: Muhammad Messenger of Allah. Private Collection.

Photograph © Macka Mezat A.S. Istanbul, www.lebriz.com

The Pera Museum, Istanbul

The Pera Museum, which opened its doors in early June 2005, is the first step of a comprehensive cultural endeavor that the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation has launched at this distinguished venue in the city for the purpose of providing cultural service on a variety of levels. An historical structure which was originally constructed in 1893 by the architect Achille Manoussos in Tepebaşı (İstanbul's most prestigious district in those days) and which was, until rather recently, known as the Bristol Hotel, was completely renovated to serve as a museum and cultural center for the project. Transformed into a fully-equipped modern museum, this venerable building is now serving the people of İstanbul once again.

The first and second floors of the Pera Museum house three permanent collections belonging to the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation, with the Sevgi and Erdoğan Gönül Gallery on the second floor. The third, fourth, and fifth floors are devoted to multipurpose exhibition spaces. There is an auditorium and lobby in the basement and on the ground floor are the reception desk and Perakende - Artshop and a cafe.

A large part of the first of the two museum floors above the ground floor displays choice examples from the foundation's collection of Anatolian Weights and Measures for the benefit of those who are in love with history and archaeology. Made from many different materials using many different techniques, these objects show the development of the devices used to weigh and measure in Anatolia since the earliest times. In another wing on the same floor is the foundation's collection of Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics, whose strikingly beautiful pieces seek to shed new light on an area of creativity in our cultural history that is not very well known.

The Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation's collection of Orientalist art consists of more than three hundred paintings. This rich collection brings together important works by European artists inspired by the Ottoman world from the 17th century to the early 19th. This collection, which presents a vast visual panorama of the last two centuries of the Ottoman Empire, includes works by Osman Hamdi, regarded by art historians as the genre's only "native Orientalist" and of course his most famous painting The Tortoise Trainer. Many paintings from the private collections of the late Sevgi and Erdoğan Gönül have also entered the foundation's permanent collection. It is planned to exhibit the collection in the Sevgi and Erdoğan Gönül Gallery dedicated to their name in a series of long-term thematic exhibitions. The first of these, which opened in early June 2005, is called "Portraits from the Empire" and consists of portraits of sultans, princes, and other members of the Ottoman imperial family as well as of foreign ambassadors together with other "portraits" in the general sense, showing people from many different periods and walks of life.

In addition to its function as a private museum in which to display the collection of the family, the Pera Museum is also intended to provide the people of İstanbul with a broad range of cultural services as a modern cultural center located in a vibrant part of the city and equipped with multipurpose exhibition spaces, an auditorium and lobby, and activity spaces for visitors.

Contact Info:

Meşrutiyet Caddesi No.141
34443 Tepebaşı - Beyoğlu - İstanbul
Tel. + 90 212 334 99 00
Fax. + 90 212 245 95 11
info@peramuzesi.org.tr

Visiting Hours:

Tuesday to Saturday 10.00 - 19.00
Sunday 12.00 - 18.00
The museum is closed on Monday.


Text/Photograph © http://www.pm.org.tr/index_en.html

Ali Emiri Efendi (1854-1924)

Ali Emiri Efendi ( 1854 Diyarbakır - 1924 İstanbul)

Ali Emîrî Efendi was born in Diyarbakır, one of the most significant areas among the Ottoman provinces. He was not exposed to a conventional education. Much like all Tanzimat period employees, his life was spent traversing the empire's geography from one end to the other. He collected rare books in the course of his travels. The ones he could not acquire, he copied by hand to save them being forever lost. For Ali Emîrî Efendi, books were not a collection item but rather a tool for discovery through reading. He was not interested in the movements of modernization during the period in which he lived. His greatest passion was to familiarize new generations with the Ottoman-Turkish heritage. To accomplish this, he established the Millet Library and donated his books to his "nation."

Ali Emîrî Efendi was a poet, a historian, a biographer and a publisher. He was particularly recognized as the book connoisseur who rediscovered Dîvânu Lugâti't-Türk. He was never married, never had his photograph taken and never set foot in Beyoğlu. He spent his life reading and writing, in the company of his books and cats.

Ali Emiri Efendi and His World- Exhibition

A Selection from the Millet Manuscript Library. Ali Emiri Efendi and His World.
Fermans, berats, calligraphies, books.

If the cultural inheritance of past, particularly the fragile and perishable pieces of the inheritance - such as books, documents, manuscripts or photographs - miraculously manage to survive until the present day, it is mostly trough the efforts of a number of nameless heroes, who dedicate their entire lives to the collection, preservation and transmission of these objects to future generations. Thanks to these men, who recognize and appreciate their value, many priceless works of the past have withstood wars, destructions or natural disasters, transcending centuries to assume their places in today's contemporary museums and library collections. Ali Emiri Efendi and his world exhibition we are hosting in two sections, in the halss of Pera Museum and Istanbul Research Institute today, sheds light to the unconventional adventure of such a man. Through the imperial edicts, books and calligraphic works he excavated from the debris of a deteriorating empire, and subsequently preserved and donated to the Millet Library he established, as well as a selection of his personel belongings and documents, we encounter the persona of Ali Emiri Efendi as a "culture man" and journey into a world he was passionately connected to.

Hosted by Pera Museum (3rd floor) and Istanbul Research Institute, Ali Emîrî Efendi and his World exhibition is compartmentalized into three major sections. The first section is comprised of 49 fermans and berats, extending over 500 years, from Sultan Süleyman, the Magnificent, to Sultan Reşad. These 49 spectacular works of tuğra (imperial monogram), hat (calligraphy and tezhip (decoration) are being brought to light for the first time. The second section includes 31 kıt'as (rectangular calligraphic works) and levhas (large-scale panels) by the greatest masters of calligraphic art. Penned by Şeyh Hamdullah, Hâfız Osman, Yedikuleli Seyyid Abdullah, Şeyhülislâm Veliyüddin Efendi, İsmail Zühdi, Mahmud Celaleddin and Kadıasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi, these calligraphies reveal the quintessence of Ottoman aesthetics. The third and final section is a selection from the rare and precious books Ali Emîrî Efendi collected in a lifetime. This wide spectrum consists of 69 books, ranging from the Ottoman sultans' collective poetry to medicine, from geography to history and Sufism. Discovered by Ali Emîrî Efendi in 1914, the sole copy of the legendary Dîvânu Lugâti't-Türk, which was written by Mahmud of Kashgar in the 11th century, is revealed to the public for the first time in this exhibition.

24 January – 1 July 2007, Pera Museum Istanbul and Istanbul Research Institute.

Contact Info:

Meşrutiyet Caddesi No.141
34443 Tepebaşı - Beyoğlu - İstanbul
Tel. + 90 212 334 99 00
Fax. + 90 212 245 95 11
info@peramuzesi.org.tr

Visiting Hours:

Tuesday to Saturday 10.00 - 19.00
Sunday 12.00 - 18.00
The museum is closed on Monday.


About Ali Emiri Efendi ( 1854 Diyarbakır - 1924 İstanbul)

Ali Emîrî Efendi was born in Diyarbakır, one of the most significant areas among the Ottoman provinces. He was not exposed to a conventional education. Much like all Tanzimat period employees, his life was spent traversing the empire's geography from one end to the other. He collected rare books in the course of his travels. The ones he could not acquire, he copied by hand to save them being forever lost. For Ali Emîrî Efendi, books were not a collection item but rather a tool for discovery through reading. He was not interested in the movements of modernization during the period in which he lived. His greatest passion was to familiarize new generations with the Ottoman-Turkish heritage. To accomplish this, he established the Millet Library and donated his books to his "nation."

Ali Emîrî Efendi was a poet, a historian, a biographer and a publisher. He was particularly recognized as the book connoisseur who rediscovered Dîvânu Lugâti't-Türk. He was never married, never had his photograph taken and never set foot in Beyoğlu. He spent his life reading and writing, in the company of his books and cats.


Text/Photograph © Pera Museum, Istanbul

İlhan Özkececi (b. 1955)

(b Kayseri, Turkey 1955) Turkish calligrapher and illumination decorator. Prof. Özkececi is active in Turkey.

Education:

BA/ Master: Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Decorative Arts (1973-1980)
Phil. Doctorate (Qualification in Art): Mimar Sinan University, Fine Arts Faculty,
Traditional Turkish Handicrafts Illumination-Decoration Department (1991)
Studying riq`a script with calligrapher Kemal Batanay, and illumination with Rikkat
Kunt, Muhsin Demironat and Tahsin Aykutalp in 1974 - 1980
Studying calligraphy with Hasan Çelebi (1975-1996), and receiving a calligraphy certificate in the style of thuluth and naskh (1997),

Professional Experience:

Instructor in Erciyes University, Department of Fine Arts (1983 - 1995)
Ass. Assoc. Prof. in Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Traditional Turkish Handicrafts. Continuing his work as the president of the department. (1995-2005)
Ass. Prof. (1996)
Prof. (2003)
Fatih University (2006)

Books
1993 - Turkish Illumination Art and Ornamental Motifs - Minbar - Minarets in Kayseri Mosques
1997 - Historical Kayseri Mosques
2004 - Turkish Art in IX. Century
2006 - Islamic Art from VII. to XII. Centuries


Contact:
İlhan Özkeçeci
www.ilhanozkececi.com
P.K. 38 Fatih 34080 İstanbul
Mobile : +90 532-711 5488



Text/Photograph© İlhan Özkeçeci

Güvenc Güven (b.1958)

(b 1958) Turkish calligrapher. Güvenç Güven was born in 1958. He took part in various restoration projects such as Edirne Selimiye Mosque (1983 - 1985) and Istanbul Sultan Ahmet Mosque (1986 - 1988). He was also an instructor of hand-drawn art. He has been working as a restorer in various projects since 1988. He took calligraphy lessons from Mahmut Öncü who was an instructor in Mimar Sinan University. He was also trained by Tahsin Aykutalp in drawing. He took glazed tile lessons from Faik Kırımlı in 1995. Afterwards, he established his own workshop. His works can be found in various collections, museums etc. both in Turkey and abroad. The artist established many solo exhibitons. He also participated in very many group exhibitions.

Exhibitions

2006 The First International Crafts Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2006 Ayasofya Museum
2005 Vakıfbank General Management Art Gallery, Istanbul
2004 Milli Piyango Art Gallery, Ankara
2004 Eminönü Municipality Cultur Center
2004 Eyüp Symposium
2003 Mevlana Museum, Konya
2003 Tekel Art Gallery
2002 International Islamic Art Exhibition, Iran, Isfahan
1998 Pencil on Wood and 16th century İznik Tile Exhibition
1990 Antique and Art Fair, Swiss Otel
1990 Press Museum Art Gallery
1988 Beyoğlu Municipality Art Gallery
1991 Konya Dostlar Group Exhibition
1989 YKB Beyoglu Gallery, Istanbul

Contact:
Güvenç Güven
www.guvencguven.com
Defterdar Cad. No:10 Kat:2 Eyüp, İstanbul
Phone : +90 212-612 1615 - Mobile : +90 532-503 4707

Text/Photograph© Güvenc Güven and www.lebriz.com

Davut Bektas (b.1963)

( b Akoluk, Adana 1963) Turkish calligrapher. Davut Bektas attended the elementary school in Akoluk and continued his education at the ‘Imam-Hatip’ high-school of Adana . In 1981, he was accepted to the law-school of Istanbul University and received his law degree in 1992. During high-school he got interested in the art of Islamic calligraphy and decided to take classes. When he arrived in Istanbul towards the end of 1981 to attend law school, he started Islamic calligraphy lessons with the late Hattat (calligrapher) Yusuf Ergün Erzincani. He studied the script Thuluth with this master for a short period of time. Meeting Hattat Hasan Çelebi in 1982, he started lessons with him in the scripts of Thuluth, Naskh and Rik`a. He received his diploma (ijaza) from his teacher in 1994. Examining the works of previous hattats, like Sami Efendi and Hamid Bey, and benefiting from the works of contemporary hattats, Mr. Bektaş has focused on the script of Jali Thuluth. Uğur Derman, an expert in Islamic calligraphy, gave him some copies of Sami Efendi`s Jali Thuluth writings of which the originals are on the water fountain behind ‘Yeni Cami’ (New Mosque) in Istanbul. Mr. Bektaş greatly benefited from these sources as well as from Şevki Efendi`s Thuluth and Naskh works. These valuable sources have played a special role in the development of his art. Mr. Bektaş has also received lessons in the scripts of Taliq and Diwani from the late Prof. Ali Alparslan between 2002 and 2005. Currently Mr. Bektaş is producing pieces of Islamic calligraphy and is teaching calligraphy classes in Istanbul .

EXHIBITIONS

1984 Exhibition of Calligraphy and Illumination by Contemporary Artists, IRCICA, Istanbul
1989 Birlik Foundation, Istanbul
1989 Bize Art Gallery , Istanbul
1990 Yıldız Palace Art Gallery , Istanbul
1994 MÜSİAD Swiss Otel, Istanbul
1994 Elif Exhibition Gallery, Istanbul
1996 International MÜSİAD Fair, World Trade Centre, Istanbul
1998 International MÜSİAD Fair, TUYAP, Istanbul
2001 International Quran Exhibition, Tahran
2003 Turkish traditional handicrafts exhibition, Fatih University , Istanbul
2003 Calligraphy exhibition, Taksim Art Gallery, Istanbul
2003 The 4th International, Cultural and Artistic Festival, Büyükçekmece municipality, Istanbul
2004 Dubai International Exhibition of the Art of Islamic Calligraphy, Shaikh Saeed House, Dubai
2004 From Past to Future, Bridges Established by Reed and Paintbrush, Cairo , Egypt
2004 Selected Works by Hattat Hasan Çelebi and his students, Maksut Varol Art Gallery , Istanbul .
2004 Dubai International Exhibition of the Art of Arabic
Calligraphy Al-Owais Cultural Foundation, Dubai .
2005 The Music of Letters , Kuwait Arts Association, Kuwait (personal exhibition by Davut Bektas)
2005 Turkish Traditional Arts Exhibition, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Art Gallery, Istanbul .
2006 2nd International Biennial for the Art of Arabic calligraphy, Sharjah.
2006 Days of Arabic Calligraphy , Tunisia .
2006 Turkish Traditional Arts Spring Exhibition, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Art Gallery , Istanbul

LIST OF AWARDS

International
In the International Islamic calligraphy competitions organized by IRCICA, Mr. Bektaş received the first prize in Jali Thuluth and honourable mention award in the style of direct imitation in 1986. He was awarded the first prize in Jali Thuluth in 1989 and the first prize in Thuluth in 1993. In 1997 he received the first prize in the Islamic Festival organized in Tahran. In 2006, he won an award at the 2nd International Biennial for the Art of Arabic calligraphy in Sharjah.

National
In 1988, he received the first prize in the Islamic calligraphy competition organized as part of the Gülhane Festival in Istanbul. In 1991 and 1992, he participated in two competitions organized in Urfa and received the first prizes at both organizations.

Gallery Contact:
Konak Mimarlık ve Sanat Hizmetleri
San. Tic. Ltd. Şti
Halıcılar Cad. Kocaoğlu Apt. 38 / 1
Fatih İstanbul
Tel : + 90 212 532 30 39
Faks: + 90 212 532 25 16
konak@konakmimarlik.com


Text/Photograph ©http://www.konakmimarlik.com/konaksanat.com/default.asp

Ismail Zühdi Efendi II. (d.1805)

By Ismail Zühdi Efendi (The Second). Signed, undated inscription on paper.Transcription: Ali al Murtaza (name of ´Prophets´son-in-law and the names of Prophets´grandsons Hassan and Huesseyin. (Peace and blessing upon them). From a Private Collection of a Gentlemen, Istanbul

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Ismail Zühdi Efendi II. (d.1805)

By Ismail Zühdi Efendi II, signed, inscription on paper, text of celi sülüs script, Collection of Türk Petrol Vakfi.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Sultan Abdülmecid Efendi II. (b. 29. May 1868 in İstanbul; d. 23. August 1944 in Paris)

Work by Abdülmecid Efendi text of celi sülüs script in Fatih Cami (Mosque) Istanbul.

Biography: Abdülmecid II; in Arabic عبد المجيد الثانى ) (lived May 29, 1868 – August 23, 1944; reigned November 19, 1922 – March 3, 1924) was the last Caliph of the Ottoman Dynasty, the 101st Caliph in line from Caliph Abu Bakr and nominally the 37th Head of the Ottoman Imperial House.

On May 29, 1868 he was born at Dolmabahçe Palace of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) to then Sultan Abdülaziz. He was educated privately. On July 4, 1918 his first cousin Mehmed VI became Sultan and Abdul Mejid was named Crown Prince. Following the deposition of his cousin on November 1, 1922 the Sultanate was abolished. But on November 19, 1922 the Crown Prince was elected Caliph by the Turkish National Assembly at Ankara. He established himself in Istanbul, on November 24, 1922. On March 3, 1924 he was deposed and expelled from the shores of Turkey with the rest of his family. He was given the title of General of Ottoman Army and served as Chairman of the Ottoman Artist's Society. A painter and a calligrapher himself, his paintings of the Harem, showing a modern musical gathering, and of a woman reading Goethe's Faust were displayed at an exhibition of Ottoman paintings in Vienna in 1918. His personal self-portrait can be seen at Istanbul Modern. On August 23, 1944 Abdulmecid Efendi II died at his house in the Boulevard Suchet, Paris XVIe, France. He was buried at Haram-i-Sharif, Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Konya Museum of Historical Works, Turkey

Mevlana Dergahi (Dervish Lodge) which is presently used as a museum formerly the Rose Garden of the Seljuks Palace it was given as a gift to Mevlana's father Sultanü'l-Ulema Bahaaeddin Veled by Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad

When Sultanü'l-Ulema died on 12 January 1231, he was buried in the present grave which is in the mausoleum. This was the first burial ever to take place in the Rose Garden.

After the death of Sultanü'l-Ulema, his friends and disciples approached Mevlana and expressed their wish to build a maussoleum over his grave. Mevlana refused this request remarking "How could there be a better mausoleum than the sky itself?).However when he died on 17 December 1273, his son Sultan Veled accepted the request of those who wanted to build a maussoleum over Mevlana's grave.The mausoleum called "Kubbe-i Hadra" (Green mausoleum) was built by the architect Bedrettin from Tebriz for 130.000 Seljuk dirhem (currency) on four elephant feet (thick columns). After this date, the construction activities never ceased and continued in stages up to the end of the 19th century.

Mevlevi Derhgahi (Dervish Lodge) and the mausoleum started to function as a museum in 1926 under the name of Konya Museum of Historical Works. In 1954 the display pattern of the museum was once more taken up and it was renamed as the Mevlevi Museum.

While the Museum originally covered an area of 6.500m² together with its garden, with the section expropriated later and designed as a rose garden, it has today reached a size of 18.000m²

The courtyard of the museum is entered from "Dervisan Kapisi" (The gate of the Dervishes). There are dervish cells along the north and west sides of the courtyard. The south side, after Matbah and Hürrem Pasha Mausoleums, terminates with the gate of Hamusan (Sealed Lips) which opens to Üçler cemetrey. On the eastern side of the courtyard there are mausoleums of Sinan Pasha, Fatma Hatun and Hasan Pasha, the Samahane (Ritual Prayer Hall) next to them and the small mosque (mesjidt) section and the main building where the graves of Mevlana and his family members are also housed.

The courtyard is given a special flavor with the roofed washing fountain (sadirvan) built by Sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim in 1512 and the "Seb-i Arus" (means nuptial night or the night Mevlana passed away) pool and the fountain which is located in the northern part of the court and called Selsebil.

"Tilavet" Chamber (Quran Reading And Chanting)

"Tilavet" is an Arabic word which means reading the quran with a beautiful voice and the correct rhythm. The room takes its name from its function in the past. At present it is used as the Calligraphy Department.

The calligraphy section contains the framed works of famous calliagraphs of their time such as Mahmud Celaleddin, Mustafa Rakim, Hulusi, Yesarizade as well as a gilt relief frame done by Sultan Mahmut II. The couplet in Farsi engraved on the silver door with the calligraphy of Yesarizade Mustafa Izzet Efendi says:

Kabetü'l-ussâk bâsed in mekam
Her ki nakis amed incâ sod temam

(Let this be the Kaaba of the minstrels. Who ever enters here in half, finds himself whole)

Huzur-i Pir (Mausoleum)

The hall of the mausoleum is entered from a silver door which was donated in 1599 by Hasan Pasha, who is the son of Sokollu Mehmet Pasha. Here, the oldest copies of the famous works of Mevlana the "Mesnevi" and "Divan-i Kebir" are displayed in two glass fronted cabinets. The mausoleum hall is roofed with three small domes The third dome which is also called the skin dome joins, the green dome in the north.

The hall is bordered with a platform on its east, south and north sides. In the north where there is a two level platform, the sarcophagi of 6 Sacred horasan men are placed. Right at the feet of these, the Target Stone, made for Ilhanli King Ebu said Bahadir Khan.

There are also two framed inscriptions which are important as they reflect the thoughts and philosophy of Mevlana. The first frame is in Turkish and says:
"Either seem as you are

Or be as you seem"

Hz. Mevlâna

Second frame is a quatrain of Mevlana in Persian. In translation it reads:
"Come, Come who or whatever you are
Should you be an unbeliever, a Magian or a pagan still come
Our lodge is not a lodge of despair
With hundred repentions unheeded you may be,still, come"

Hz. Mevlana

On the high platform bordering the mausoleum hall on the east and south there are 55 graves, ten of which belong to ladies and the whole group belongs to the family members of Mevlana, and his father. There are ten other graves which belong to people such as Hüsameddin Çelebi, Selahaddin Zerkubi and Sheyh Kerimüddin who had reached high ranks in the sect of Mevlevi.

Right under the Green Dome there are the graves of Mevlana and his son Sultan Veled. The double hunched marble sarcophagus over the graves was donated in 1565 by Süleyman the Magnificent.The quilt embrodieried with gold thread placed over the sarcophagus is a Seljuk masterpiece and was made for Mevlana in 1274. When Süleyman the Magnificent had a new marble sarcophagus made over the graves of Mevlana and son, the original wood one was removed and put over the grave of Mevlana's father.

Semâ-Hâne (Ritual Hall)

The Semahane section together with the small mosque was built by Süleyman the Magnificent in the XVIth century. Semah ceromonies were continued at this ritual hall until 1926, when the Dergah (Dervish lodge) was converted to a museum. The Naat Pew in the Hall, the place where the musicians set (Mutrib cells) and the sections for men and women are preserved in their original state, while metal and glass objects and musical instruments of the Mevlevi are displayed in glassed cabinets and rugs of historical value are hung on appropriate walls of the Semahane.

Mosque

The small mosque or the mesjidt is entered from the Çerag (apprentice) Gate. There are additional small entrances from the Semahane and the Huzur - Pir, the cemetrey. The place for the müezzin and the Mesnevihan Pew are kept in their original state.
Extremely valuable rug and wooden door samples are displayed on the south wall of the mosque and in 10 glassed cabinets put around this space, significant examples of binding, calligrapy and gilding are exhibited.

Rug And Fabric Section - Dervish Cells

There are 17 small cells, each with a small dome and chimney around the west and north sides of the front court of the Mevlana Lodge. These cells were built in 1584 by Sultan Murat III to house the dervishes.

Four cells to the right of the entrance gate are at present used as a ticket window and administration offices . The first two of the 13 cells to the left of the gate used as "Postnisin" and "Mesnevi-han" cells are kept in their origanal form and presented to the public.
The last two cells at the end are allocated to the very valuable book collections donated by Abdülbaki Gölpinarli and Dr. Mehmed Önder, and they are used as a library.
The partition walls of the remaining 9 cells were removed providing two interconnected large corridors. In one of these corridors old rugs of historical value from regions famous for their rugs such as Kula, Gördes, Usak and Kirsehir are displayed while the other has old rugs from districts of Konya such as Ladik, Karaman, Karapinar and Sille which are centres of rug weaving. Display windows built in the window and door sills of these cells display artefacts of Mevlevi ethnography such as "Pazarci masasi", "Mütteka", "Nefir" which were transferred to the museum from the Lodge, and the extremely valuable Bursa fabrics from the museum collection

Matbah (Kitchen) Section

The kitchen is on the south west corner of the museum. It was built by Sultan Murat II in 1548. Until the lodge was converted to a museum in 1926 the meals were being provided from here.

This section was restored in 1990 and the display was rearranged with mannequins. Cooking, the basic function of the kitchen and the "somat" the special table routine is demonstrated with mannequins. Another such illustration was attempted, to show the other function of the kitchen which is related to the initiations of the novice, called "Nev-ni-yaz", and involves practice of Semah.


https://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN/BelgeGoster.aspx?17A16AE30572D3137EE1F1486EE5030E7697F507FF48CA85

Photograph ©Selcuk Edik, M. Berk Torun, Gökmen Sözen, Voyager, Fatih Basbug,

Semseddin Ahmet Karahisari (1468-1556)

A calligraphic exercise on paper by Karahisari. (attributed)

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Semseddin Ahmet Karahisari (1468-1556)

A Qur´an folio by Karahisari on paper with text of muhakkak ve reyhani script.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts

Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts (Turkish: Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi) is a Turkish state university dedicated to the higher education of fine arts. It is located in the Fındıklı neighborhood of İstanbul, Turkey. It was founded on January 1, 1882 as the "School of Fine Arts" ("Mekteb-i Sanayi-i Nefise-i Şâhâne" or simply "Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi") by the renowned Turkish painter Osman Hamdi Bey, who was also an art historian, archeologist and museum curator. The institution, being the first of its kind in Turkey, took up education in fine arts and architecture on March 2, 1883 with 8 instructors and 20 students.

In 1914, the school became co-educational. The school was converted in 1928 to an academy, the first academy in Turkey, and its name was changed to "Academy of Fine Arts" (Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi). In 1969, it was renamed to "Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts" (İstanbul Devlet Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi). On July 20, 1982, its status was changed, and the academy became a university named "Mimar Sinan University" (Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi) after the great Ottoman architect Sinan. Finally, in December 2003, the administration of the university changed its name to "Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts".

Academic units

Faculty of natural sciences and literature (archeology, paedagogy, physics, statistics, mathematics, history of art, sociology, history, Turkish philology and literature)

Faculty of fine arts (photography, traditional Turkish handicrafts, graphic design, sculpture, painting, stage design and stage clothes, ceramics art and glass art, cinema and TV, textile design and fashion design, bookbinding, tilework restoration, calligraphy, rug and old textile design)

Faculty of architecture (industrial design, interior decoration, architecture, urban planning and regional planning)

State conservatory (music, musicology, performing arts)

Vocational school (textile design, building restoration)

Institute of natural sciences

Institute of social sciences

School of informatics


Contact: Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi Meclis-i Mebusan Cad. 80040 Fındıklı - İstanbul

Text adapted from Wikipedia. © http://www.msu.edu.tr/

Abdülfettah Efendi (1815-1896)

Epitaph by Abdülfettah Efendi, signed (lower left) and dated (lower right), Tughra of Sultan Abülaziz on the mainentrance of Aksaray Valide Sultan Cami (Mosque) Istanbul.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Hattat Abdülfettah Efendi (1815-1896)

By Abdülfettah Efendi, dated lower mid, signed, celi sülüs müsenna script framed inscription in Ulucami (Great Mosque)Bursa/Turkey.

Photograph ©HAT SAN'ATI Tarihçe, Malzeme ve Örnekler, Istanbul. http://ismek.ibb.gov.tr/portal/yayinlarimiz.asp

Yeserizade Mustafa Izzet Efendi (? - 1849)

By Yeserizade Mustafa Efendi, signed and dated lower left, zerendud panel, 28x31 cm. Transcription: Ya Hadrath Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas (Name of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad [pbuh]).

Photograph © www.antikalar.com, Antik A.S., Istanbul

Mehmed Emin Sirri (c.1773)

By Mehmed Emin Sirri, signed and dated 1773. Inscription of Divine Names "Hayyum and Kayyum" Translation: The everliving One and the Self-Existing One.

Photograph ©www.turk.ch

Mehmed Hafiz el Kirmani (c.1775)

By Mehmed Hafiz el Kirmani, dated 1775, on wood panel, inscription of the Prophet Muhammads name "Muhammad" (Peace and blessing upon him). Translation: The most praised one.

Photograph © www.turk.ch