Page with illuminated calligraphy, Hadith (Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad)

Ottoman calligraphers often demonstrated their skills by writing different styles and sizes of Arabic script on rectangular sheets of paper, which were then illuminated, mounted on pasteboard with colored and marbled papers, and assembled into accordion fold albums, known as muraqqaʿ. This calligraphic panel containing Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, was composed by the highly regarded Ottoman calligrapher, Hâfız Osman (1642 –1698). The heading was written in the thuluth style of script and the four small lines below were composed in the simple, yet elegant naskh style, for which Hâfız Osman was most well known. An illuminator decorated the side panels with dense floral motifs that visually resonate with the dynamic verse markers painted in gold and decorated with red, blue, and white pigments. The calligraphic panel is bordered by mutliple colored paper margins and an outter border speckled with gold leaf.