Page with illuminated calligraphy

This calligraphic folio was composed by ‘Os̱mān b. Süleymān (d. 1781), who was also known as Eyyūbī, in reference to the Eyüb neighborhood in Istanbul. Written in the Persian language using the nasta‘līq script, this folio praises Yirmisekiz Çelebī-zāde Meḥmed Sa‘īd Pasha (Grand Vezir Sa‘īd Pasha), who was a great reformer and the patron of the first printing press in the Ottoman Empire. The text is a chronogram celebrating Sa‘īd Pasha's appointment as vizir. When the numerical values of the letters on the fourth line are added, the sum yields 1169 A.H. (1755 A.D.) — the date of Sa‘īd Pasha's appointment.