SIGNED HAFIZ 'UTHMAN, OTTOMAN TURKEY, DATED AH 1092/1681-82 AD

Born in Istanbul, 'Uthman bin 'Ali, better known as Hafiz 'Uthman (d. 1698 AD), flourished under the patronage of the Grand Vizier Koprulu-zadeh Mustafa Pasha. He practised calligraphy with the Dervish 'Ali the Elder (d. 1673 AD), Suyolcu-zade Mustafa Eyyubi Effendi (d. 1685 AD) and Nefes-zade Isma'il Effendi (d. 1679 AD). In the year 1694, he was appointed the calligraphy teacher of Sultan Mustafa II. He also taught Sultan Ahmad III before he came to power. He was a member of the Sunbuliye order, based in the dervish-lodge in the region of Koca-Mustafa-Pasha in Istanbul. The famous 18th century calligrapher Cinici-zade Abdurrahman Effendi (d. 1724 AD) was in his service and used to prepare 'Uthman's writing tools. Rado, referring to Mustaqim-zadeh's Tuhfe-i Hatte ('The Rare and Valuable Lives of the Calligraphers'), notes that 'Uthman was regarded as the 'Second Shaykh' (after Shaykh Hamdullah). He is known to have inscribed twenty-five copies of the Qur'an. There are some thirty albums and many other works by him in the collections of the Topkapi Palace and Royal Ottoman libraries as well as in other public and private collections. He is also celebrated as the inventor of the hilyeh panel, the verbal portraits of the Prophet Muhammad which were much in demand in the late 18th and 19th centuries (Sevket Rado, Turk Hattatlari (Turkish Calligraphers), Istanbul 1980, p. 109-14). Muraqqas signed by Hafiz 'Uthman have sold in Christie's, London, 7 October 2008, lot 372 and 31 March 2009, lot 62.