Page 249 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

and 68) as well as Chinese porcelains that copied Islamic pro- prosperous) perfection," most suitable good wishes for the
65
totypes. The long sides of the pen box, framed at the top calligraphier who owned the box.
and bottom with interlacing bands executed in reserve, con- In contrast to the single blue-and-white pen box that has
tain kufi inscriptions with knotted and intertwined vertical survived from the early sixteenth century, there exist a dozen
letters on a delicate hatayi scroll. The curved short sides have contemporary plates, which are composed of concentric
large rumis and hatayis in white on a blue ground. The top panels and have flattened rims. The interior panels are deco-
shows an open oblong compartment for pens and a covered rated in reserve, while the exteriors of the cavetti have a blue
section with a panel of nesih inscriptions and two cylindrical floral scroll and at times scalloped lines around the rims.
containers for inks. The inscriptions, written in white on a Only one example, which is in Istanbul, appears to have a fo-
pale blue ground, contain the words "help from God and liated rim, 66 and some show blank interior cavetti. 67
speedy victory," a part of a Koranic verse. The unit with the The only plate in the group that contains an inscription is
cylindrical pots is decorated in reserve with hatayi scrolls and in the Louvre (169). It has a dense hatayi scroll on the rim,
a central knotted cartouche. The bottom of the open com- an inscription panel with a version of the same scroll in the
partment is painted with a series of lozenges forming a diaper cavetto, and a band around the central medallion that is
pattern. The underside of the pen box is embellished with identical to that on the rim. Each zone is defined by blue and
four large cloud bands placed over a hatayi scroll. white lines. The central medallion contains a radiating pat-
This exquisitely designed and produced pen box was re- tern, in the core of which is a blossom enclosed by scrolls
stored in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century at bearing rumis that form an eight-pointed star. The radial de-
which time an engraved silver lid was attached to the open sign provides a focus to the composition, which consists of
compartment and the two cylindrical containers were added. revolving bands of scrolls that move clockwise, following the
The plaited kufi inscriptions on the sides have not been direction of the script. The movement is highly sophisticated,
successfully deciphered. It has been suggested that they repeat suggesting a perpetual flow that recalls the mystic interpreta-
the words "salah sifr ve sad selam," which could be trans- tion of the harmony and rhythm of the universe frequently
lated as "competent (or expedient) writing and manifold (or represented in Koranic illuminations.

169. Plate with concentric panels, first quarter sixteenth century (Paris, 170. Plate with peony scroll, second quarter sixteenth century (Istanbul,
Musée du Louvre, 6321) Arkeoloji Miizesi, 41/155)

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