after ahmed karahisari

Ahmed Karahisari was one of the great Ottoman calligraphers of the sixteenth century, whose naskh style was reminiscent of the Abbasid master scribe Yaqut al-Musta'simi. He worked by royal appointment under the patronage of Sultan Suleyman I in his lifetime and his surviving manuscripts are housed in important Ottoman collections such as the Topkapi Palace and the Topkapi Museum.

The legacy of master calligraphers extends beyond the work produced during their lifetime but also in the inspiration that survives in their name for centuries after their death, the present manuscript is an homage to Karahisari and one such example. It is an early 19th century Qajar replica of a sixteenth century Ottoman manuscript by Karahisari and signed in their name. The binding and illumination indicate a place of production likely in Tabriz, where there is a stronger influence of Ottoman art than in the Eastern regions of the Persian empire.

Single volume, illuminated manuscript on polished paper, in Arabic, containing the holy names of Allah, 8 leaves with two front free endpapers at each end, complete, 205 x 125 mm; single and double columns, usually 5 lines elegant scribal naskh script in blue, text in panels often forming geometric shapes, illuminated unwan opening the text, marbled endpapers, a few early ownership seals to preliminary and penultimate leaves, a few small stains overall clean internal condition; contemporary lacquered boards with a red leather spine. 205 x 125mm (8 x 5 inches).