FOUR OTTOMAN LEVHAS (CALLIGRAPHIC COMPOSITIONS)
Ottoman Turkey, 19th century

Arabic manuscripts on paper, comprising a signed and dated panel with 7ll. of black ink thuluth script to the folio, the text quoting a saying from the Prophet and accomplished in three different pens, with gold and floral illumination, gold verse markers, the text flanked by floral motifs, the lower lobed cartouches including the commissioner’s name, Omar Efendi, signed by the scribe Seyyed Khwaja Abdullah al-Wasfi al-Uskudari, a nisba denoting an origin from Üsküdar on the Asian side of Istanbul, the date 1264 AH (1847 - 1848 AD), and the illuminator's name, Mahmoud al-Rajai, a pupil of Seyyed Khwaja H. al-Hasani, set within pink and gold inner borders, laid on cobalt blue paper with gold scrolling foliage illumination, mounted, glazed and framed, the text panel 11.2cm x 19.5cm, 22.8cm x 31.3cm including the frame; another similar panel with 7ll. of black ink thuluth script to the folio, the text quoting a saying from the Prophet, set within illuminated inner margins and borders, the lower lobed cartouches bearing the names of the scribe, Haj Abu Bakr Rashid, and of the illuminator, Mohammad Rasem, dated 1274 AH (1857 - 1858 AD), set within gold and red borders, laid on a blue outer card with gold scrolling flowers, mounted, glazed and framed, the text panel 12.5cm x 19cm, 39cm x 44.8cm including the frame; a smaller panel with 4ll. of black ink thuluth script to the folio, the upper line in bold letters, with black diacritic marks, verse markers in gold, set within gold rules, and gold and pink borders, signed Abul Riza, laid on blue and gold paper, mounted, glazed and framed, the text panel 7.5cm x 14.5cm, 31.3cm x 37.2cm including the frame; and lastly, a hand-coloured lithograph of sayings from the Prophet, printed Hussayn Saddiq 1300 AH (1882 AD), the text panel 15cm x 22.2cm, 32.5cm x 39cm including the frame.