Ottoman Diploma in Calligraphy

Description Walters manuscript W.674 is a diploma/certificate (ijazah) granted to the Ottoman calligrapher Muhammad Hilmi Afandi (Mehmet Hilmi Efendi) in 1219 AH/AD 1804-1805 by four master calligraphers: Yaziji-zadah, Isma'il al-Zuhdi Katib al-Saray al-Sultani, Muhammad Hasib, and 'Ali al-Wasfi. The main text, consisting of a quotation attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and extolling the virtue of elegantly writing the doxological formula (basmalah), "in the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful," is executed in Thuluth and Naskh scripts.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters