Calligraphic Portrait of the Prophet Muhammad (recto); Geneaology of the Prophet Muhammad (verso) , left-hand side of a bifolio from a manuscript

Artists

Description

Copied in naskh script by Ismail Bosnavi, these two folios (2002.50.119 and 2002.50.135) contain a hilye (Arabic hilya), or calligraphically rendered description in Arabic of the Prophet Muhammad. The text of the hilye, attributed to Ali, the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, describes both the physical qualities of the Prophet and his good character. On these pages, this classic text, placed in three roundels (two on the right page and one at the top of the left page) is followed by that of another early Muslim, Jabir ibn Samura: “I saw the Prophet Muhammad at night wearing a red garment and, as I looked at him and at the moon, he appeared more beautiful than the moon.” Beside the large roundels are twelve smaller ones: the one at upper right is inscribed Allah (God), and the rest contain the names of Muhammad (the Prophet); of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali (the rightly guided caliphs), and of the Prophet’s six companions who first accepted Islam as the true religion. Inscribed in the square enclosures that border the two pages are the ninety-nine names of the Prophet. Both pages are decorated with gilded rulings and freehand floral designs. The back (verso) of the left-hand page records the patrilineal ancestors of the Prophet, starting with Adnan (122 BCE), arranged in the form of a tree. Adnan’s name appears at the base of the trunk and Muhammad’s at the top of the tree, within a domed frame suggestive of an Ottoman mosque. The branches of the tree terminate in ten roundels that contain the names of companions who shared Muhammad’s ancestors. Gold floral designs fill the area beneath the branches. The calligrapher’s name appears at the bottom of the page. The calligrapher Ismail [bin Ibrahim] Bosnavi (from Bosnia) was the son of Noktaci-zade, the top finance officer (defterdar) of Eger, in Hungary. He received his training at the Ottoman court school for the gifted (enderun), in the seferli division, a teaching center for various arts. Specializing in thuluth and naskh scripts, Ismail received his calligraphic education and license from Ressam Ömer Efendi. He signed his name Ismail Muhasib, since after his training at the court school he was sent to the provinces as a bookkeeper (muhasib) of the court eunuchs. He copied a Qur'an on the order of Ahmed III (r. 1703–30) and was generously rewarded. His surviving work consists of individual calligraphic specimens and others contained in albums (muraqqa). Originally, the hilye text was simply written on paper and carried as a protective amulet. In the last quarter of the seventeenth century, the renowned calligrapher Hafiz Osman transformed it into a circular calligraphic composition and included it in a copy of al-Anam, the sixth chapter of the Qur'an. With representational images of, for instance, Mecca and Medina, hilyes began to be included in various prayer books that contained Qur'anic chapters and prayers. Believed to bring succor in times of difficulty, such prayer books had widespread public appeal. Hilyes created as independent calligraphic compositions became very popular in Ottoman lands during the nineteenth century, and large-format examples were often hung on the walls of Ottoman houses.

Dimensions

22.2 x 13.6 cm (8 3/4 x 5 3/8 in.)

Provenance

Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1998-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.