ISTANBUL, TURKEY, 17TH CENTURY

The blunt-nosed blade of this calligrapher’s knife is of a rather unusual shape. In his Kalem Guzeli, or Beauty of the Pen, Mahmud Bedreddin Yazır describes four types of calligrapher’s knives. This example bears a close resemblance to Yazır’s description of the cam kırığı, 'used to cut off both ends of the reed before the process of shaping the [pen’s] mouth' (McWilliams, Roxburgh, 2007, p. 20). It is comparable to that of a knife sold in these Rooms, 23 April 2002, lot 182.