Murakkaa
Object: calligraphic album
Calligrapher: Hasan Rıza Efendi
Place of Publication: Istanbul
Date: ~1886
This manuscript was executed by Ottoman calligrapher Hasan Rıza Efendi, a master of naskh and thuluth. Naskh was one of the first Islamic calligraphy scripts to develop and often was used for everyday scribal use due to its easy legibility. Thuluth is an elegant, cursive script known for its sloping lines and use in headings, titles, and epigraphs.
This book is a full leather bound manuscript album with six leaves of thin board. The calligraphy is written in black ink on paper which is mounted overall to a secondary support of thin board and framed with orange paper. The book opens vertically, with the spine at the top edge. Treatment was intended to stabilize the item for gentle handling and to reduce the risk of material loss/dissociation.