Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 28. An illuminated almanac written for and presented to Sultan Mehmed V Reshad (r.1909-18), Turkey, Ottoman, dated jumada al-awwal 1335 AH/March 1917 AD.

An illuminated almanac written for and presented to Sultan Mehmed V Reshad (r.1909-18), Turkey, Ottoman, dated jumada al-awwal 1335 AH/March 1917 AD

Auction Closed

March 31, 12:40 PM GMT

Estimate

8,000 - 12,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Ottoman Turkish manuscript on polished cream paper, 30 leaves plus 2 fly-leaves, text and tables written horizontally and vertically in naskh in black and red ink, columns ruled in gold, the opening page illuminated in polychrome and gold with a central cartouche comprising a dedication to the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad in larger gold thuluth, f.2a bearing a gold tughra of Sultan Mehmed V Reshad, with his date of birth, enthronement and declaration of the constitution below, f.2b bearing a dedication related to the presentation of the almanac to the Sultan, dated jumada al-awwal 1335 AH/ March 1917 AD, in brown leather binding with central medallions, corner-pieces and borders decorated with gilt scrolling motifs

22.3 by 17.8cm.

The dedication text to Sultan Mehmed V Reshad reads, '... in the shadow of His Imperial Highness, the shadow of God, since he is known for his piety and since he is devoted to his daily prayers, this was prepared in order to follow the movement of the star called kaff al-hadib, to know which house the moon is in and to understand with which star the moon is in conjunction with, to know the exact time of each conjunction, to show the auspicious and inauspicious houses of the moon and their interpretations by ancient sages, humbly this was presented to His Highness the Caliph'.

Huseyin Hilmi Efendi was the court astronomer during the reign of Sultan Mehmed V Reshad (1909-18). He worked as the last royal astronomer at the Ottoman court from 1909 to 1924.

During the Gallipolli campaign in the First World War, the Allied powers attempted to weaken the Ottoman Empire by taking control of the Turkish straits. Huseyin Hilmi Efendi predicted that the Ottoman army would defeat enemy forces at the battle at Çanakkale Strait which ended on 9 January 1916. This almanac is of great significance for Turkish history as it was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed V Reshad after Efendi’s accurate prediction that Istanbul would not be captured by the Allies. (Salim Aydüz, Osmanli Devleti’nde Müneccimbasilik ve Müneccimbasilar, Istanbul University (Unpublished MA Thesis), Istanbul, 1993, p.248).