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Lot Essay
This Qur’an’s Rococo illumination reflects a distinct blend of European and Ottoman Turkish taste which appeared after ambassadors were dispatched to Paris and Vienna in the nineteenth century. European-style art and architecture grew in popularity in the Ottoman world as a means of reflecting the establishment of a modern and cosmopolitan culture (Sardar, 2000).
Ibnülemin records two calligraphers called Ahmed Al-Shukri, one who was from Shumen, bore the epithet Topçi (cannonmaker) and came to Istanbul in the reign of Mahmud II. The other was a chavush in imperial service (Mahmud Kemal Inal [Ibnülemin], Son Hattatlar, Istanbul, 1955, pp. 410, 414). It is unlikely that our scribe is the famous calligrapher Mehmed Shawqi Efendi given that he only studied under one master, his uncle, Mehmed Hulusi Efendi, and that he was only known to have completed twenty five Qur'ans whereas our scribe purports to have completed sixty five (Uğur Derman, Eternal Letters, 2009, p. 193).
For nineteenth century Ottoman Qur’ans with similar Rococo illumination sold in these Rooms, please see 5 October 2010, lot 341 and 25 October 2018, lot 243.
Ibnülemin records two calligraphers called Ahmed Al-Shukri, one who was from Shumen, bore the epithet Topçi (cannonmaker) and came to Istanbul in the reign of Mahmud II. The other was a chavush in imperial service (Mahmud Kemal Inal [Ibnülemin], Son Hattatlar, Istanbul, 1955, pp. 410, 414). It is unlikely that our scribe is the famous calligrapher Mehmed Shawqi Efendi given that he only studied under one master, his uncle, Mehmed Hulusi Efendi, and that he was only known to have completed twenty five Qur'ans whereas our scribe purports to have completed sixty five (Uğur Derman, Eternal Letters, 2009, p. 193).
For nineteenth century Ottoman Qur’ans with similar Rococo illumination sold in these Rooms, please see 5 October 2010, lot 341 and 25 October 2018, lot 243.