Masterpieces of Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakip Sabanci Museum

Sabanci University, 2004. — 229 pp., 130 illus. — ISBN-10: 9758362453 / ISBN-13: 978-9758362455Art is not the monopoly of any society. Only when a society stamps its character on an art can the art be claimed, and recognized, as an expression of that society’s identity.The Ottoman Turks had such an art: calligraphy. This art was not Turkish in origin. But having adopted it with religious fervor and inspiration, the Ottomans created marvels. Turkish calligraphy is a unique artistic creation.When we speak of "Turkish calligraphy”, we refer to writing of aesthetic value based on the letters of the Arabic alphabet, which the Turks had adopted after their conversion to Islam. The process by which the Arabic alphabet acquired its aesthetic characteristics was slow at first, but from the mideighth century that process began to accelerate. By the time the Turks joined the Islamic world in the tenth century, calligraphy was already an important art form. It is necessary, therefore, to review briefly the structure of the original Arabic alphabet and its development during the early centuries of Islam.