Framed Calligraphic Panel - "Edab Ya Hu' by Suleyman Vasfi

“The nearest of you to me on the Day of Judgement will be the one who is best in character.”

(Bukhari)

This stunning lawha composition is a reproduction of an original Ottoman manuscript calligraphed by Süleyman Vasfî Efendi, a student of Şefik Bey during the time of Sultan Abdülmecid.

The main text is in müsenna jali thuluth form, a style of calligraphy where two different texts are intertwined and mirrored, and it depicts a 'sikke' Mevlevi turban. According to Dr. Alan Godlas, it translates to:

Hu

Adab (manners), ya Hu!

O God (Hu), [please enable me to have virtuous] manners!

Muhammad

Bordered with a band of thuluth calligraphy, the outer margins are filled with rococo floral motifs. The calligraphy is taken from a poem attributed to the sage Yunus Emre and it reads:

اهل دللر اره سنده اره دم قلدم طلب

هر هنر مقبول ايمش الا ادب الا ادب

I searched among the folk of hearts,

beseeching them [for virtues].

Each talent was appreciated,

[but the most revered was] nothing but manners,

nothing but manners!

Between the four dots of the ya, at the bottom of the composition, is the artists signature: "Süleyman Vasfî wrote it" (كتبه سليمان وصفى).

Details

· Country of Origin: Ottoman Turkey

· Time Period: 1908

· Artist: Süleyman Vasfî Efendi

· Size: Approximately 46 x 34 cm (including frame)

· Print: High-quality matte print and detail finishing

· Frame: Wood frame with a gold finish