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Lot Essay
This richly illuminated prayer book was created for the seventeenth wife of Sultan Abdulmecid I (r.1839-61), Sayeste Hanim (d.1219) and her only daughter Naile Sultan (d.1882). Besides the elegant calligraphy, the design, layout and precision of the manuscript have evidently been very well thought out. The colour palette used, with various shades of pinks and purples is most unusual and feminine in range, perhaps taking into consideration the queen and princess’s favoured colours and designs. Another feature that shows the design was tailored to the queen and princess's is that their names are written in gold on five occassions within the prayer book.
The calligrapher of our manuscript, Muhammad Wasfi a’n Zulfiyan was part of the master-student chain linking to Shaykh Hamdullah. Wasfi was an immediate student of the celebrated Ottoman calligrapher Rashid Ayyubi Efendi (d.after 1879), known as Ayyubi (see Safwat, 2014, pp.610-11). Ayyubi was in turn a prominent student of Kebejizade Mohammad Wasfi Efendi (see Derman, 2010, pp. 342-43).
His nisbah, Zulfiyan refers to his position in the Ottoman court as the royal guard at the Topkapi palace. His close proximity to the royal court explains his links to the royal household and the dedication of this lavishly illuminated and illustrated prayer book to Naile Sultan and Şayeste Hanim.
A beautiful specimen of Wasfi’s work is in the Cengiz Çetindoğan collection (see Safwat, 2014, pp. 610-11). A manuscript copied by one of Wasfi’s students was sold in these Rooms, October 2016, lot 184.
The calligrapher of our manuscript, Muhammad Wasfi a’n Zulfiyan was part of the master-student chain linking to Shaykh Hamdullah. Wasfi was an immediate student of the celebrated Ottoman calligrapher Rashid Ayyubi Efendi (d.after 1879), known as Ayyubi (see Safwat, 2014, pp.610-11). Ayyubi was in turn a prominent student of Kebejizade Mohammad Wasfi Efendi (see Derman, 2010, pp. 342-43).
His nisbah, Zulfiyan refers to his position in the Ottoman court as the royal guard at the Topkapi palace. His close proximity to the royal court explains his links to the royal household and the dedication of this lavishly illuminated and illustrated prayer book to Naile Sultan and Şayeste Hanim.
A beautiful specimen of Wasfi’s work is in the Cengiz Çetindoğan collection (see Safwat, 2014, pp. 610-11). A manuscript copied by one of Wasfi’s students was sold in these Rooms, October 2016, lot 184.