Page with illuminated calligraphy

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, and assembled with colored and marbled papers into accordion fold albums, known as muraqqaʿ. This calligraphic panel containing a prayer was composed by a follower of Shaykh Hamdullâh(1436–1520), one of the most famous Ottoman calligraphers. Although the name of the calligrapher is unknown, a signature identifies the calligrapher as, "scribe of the sultan," possibly referring to Beyazid II (r. 1481–1512), who studied under Shaykh Hamdullâh.