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Page of Ottoman Calligraphy

Seyh Hamdullah (Islamic, 1436 (?)-1520) (Scribe)
10th century AH/AD 16th century-12th century AH/AD 18th century (Ottoman)
ink and pigments on paper mounted on thin pasteboard
(Islamic World , Manuscripts and Rare Books, Islamic Manuscripts)

This page from Walters manuscript W.672 bears the name of the celebrated Ottoman calligrapher Seyh Hamdullah (Hamd Allah al-Amasi, died 926 AH/AD 1520). The colophon may be translated into English as follows: This was written by Hamdu Llah, [who is] known as the sheikh's son, [while] praising God--exalted is he--and praying for his messenger Muhammad and his family, the pure ones, all of them, and praying for their safety. [This was] at the time of his hoariness as his hair glistened white and his head trembled and he was close to the state of decrepitude, being 80 and some odd years old. May God have mercy on those who act equitably and forgive and those who consider [things] closely and pray, because mankind was made to abide in deficiency and here am I, characterized by forgetfulness and disobedience.

Inscription

[Transliteration] katabahu Hamdu Llāhi al-ma'rūfu /1/ bi-ibni al-shaykhi Hāmidan li-Llāhi ta'ālá wa-musalliyan /2/ 'alá nabīyihi Muhmammadin wa-ālihi al-tāhirīna /3/ ajma'īna /4/ wa-musalliman fī awāni shaybihi ma'a ishti'āl sha'rihi wa-irti'āsh ra'sihi qaribun mina ardhali (?) al-'ummá [sic] huwa (?) ibn (?) bida'in (?) wa-thamānina min 'umrihi /5/ wa-rahima Allāhu man ansafa fa-'afā wa-nazara fa-da'ā li-anna al-insāna hull (?) bi-al-niqsān fa-hā anā al-mawsūf bi-al-nisyāni wa-al-'isyāni /6/; [Translation] This was written by Hamdu Llāh, [who is] known as the sheikh's son, [while] praising God--exalted is he--and praying for his messenger Muhammad and his family, the pure ones, all of them, and praying for their safety. [This was] at the time of his hoariness as his hair glistened white and his head trembled and he was close to the state of decrepitude, being 80 and some odd years old. May God have mercy on those who act equitably and forgive and those who consider [things] closely and pray, because mankind was made to abide in deficiency and here am I, characterized by forgetfulness and disobedience

Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

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

Exhibitions

2015-2016 Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
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Geographies

Turkey (Place of Origin)

Measurements

H: 11 13/16 x W: 9 1/16 in. (30 x 23 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters

Location in Museum

Not on view

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

W.672.5A

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Parent Object

Image for Album of Calligraphy

Album of Calligraphy

Seyh Hamdullah (Islamic, 1436 (?)-1520)
10th century AH/16th century AD-12th century AH/18th century AD (Ottoman)
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