Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakip Sabanci Collection, Istanbul [Hardcover]

M. Ugur Derman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1998

Letters in Gold accompanies the first international exhibition of Ottoman calligraphic works from the Sakip Sabanci Collection, Istanbul. The seventy-one works constituting the exhibition are discussed and illustrated in color in this volume. Almost every major Ottoman calligrapher working between the fifteenth and early twentieth century is represented. The examples include exquisitely illuminated Qur'ans and prayer handbooks, elegant albums or murakkaalar composed of calligraphic exercises and often decorated with sumptuous marbled paper or ebru, and spectacular, large-scale lettered compositions, called levhalar, which were framed and hung in mosques and homes. The volume also includes eleven royal edicts, beautifully crafted scrolls headed by the tugra, a sultan's imperial monogram. Rich gold letters and delicate blue-and-gold illuminations demonstrate how the written word can be transformed into a work of art. The introductory essay treats the history of Ottoman calligraphy, its tools and materials, the decoration and uses of calligraphy, and the training of calligraphers. The catalogue section focuses not only on the magnificent works in the exhibition but also on the life and education of the calligraphers who created them.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art/Abrams; 809th edition (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810965267
• ISBN-13: 978-0810965263
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,361,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, inspirational, January 2, 2004

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J. E. S. Leake "sailor and scholar" (Offshore, Persian Gulf) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Letters in Gold Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakip Sabanci Collection, Istanbul (Hardcover)

Letters of Gold is one of the most beautiful and informative books on Arabic calligraphy (khatt) I know. Ottoman calligraphy naturally strongly influenced calligraphy throughout the Islamic world, and in Arabic-speaking countries in particular. Certainly my two calligraphy teachers in the U.A.E. and Damascus had the highest regard for Turkish caligraphers.

As to the book, the introduction is the best I've ever seen: it covers the development of scripts, equipment and techniques, composition of pieces and concludes with a piece on the training of a scribe. All this is done with constant reference to the 71 examples in the book. The samples themselves are not, as so often in Western books on Islamic calligraphy, selected miniatures, but instead are frequently pages in the body of a work rather than merely ornate headings. It is possible, therefore, to concentrate on the khatt itself rather than the work of the anciliary craftsmen. The reproduction is excellent. Each piece of khatt has a facing-page biographical outline of the author and a small commentary on the khatt itself. Works range from the late fifteenth to the late twentieth centuries.

Terms are naturally presented in their Turkish form, so Arabists may need to guess the Arabic spelling of the word - it's not hard (h = h/H/kh, k = k/q, s = s/S/th, final Arabic b/d can become p/t). There's a glossary and a bibliography of works in English and Turkish. Anything else? I'd recomend the hardback edition.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caligraphy, fancy the pen., December 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakip Sabanci Collection, Istanbul (Hardcover)

This is a well presented work explaining the art of caligraphy as well as presenting the marvelous pieces from the Sabanci Collection which have also toured the Met.