Şeyh Hamdullah on the 500th Anniversary of His Death

Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Sakıp Sabancı Cad 42, Emirgan 34467 Istanbul

Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) commemorates Şeyh Hamdullah, the founder of Ottoman calligraphy and the great calligrapher of Fatih Sultan Mehmed and Bayezid II’s times, with an exhibition on the 500th anniversary of his death.

The exhibition organized by SSM includes rare manuscript books, copies of the Koran, cuttings (kıt’as) and albums from early 15th century and late 16th century from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul, Sadberk Hanım Museum, Kubbealtı Academy Culture and Art Foundation and the Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi Collection. The works, which could not be lent due to pandemic, are presented in a digital installation, which can be found here.

Sakıp Sabancı Museum’s Arts of the Book and Calligraphy Collection also includes rare works by Şeyh Hamdullah and his contemporaries, calligraphers on the path of Şeyh and master illuminators of the 16th century.