- Title
- Tugra (Calligraphic Monogram) of Sulayman the Magnificent
- Date Made
- circa 1550-1565
- Period
- Ottoman (1281-1924)
- Medium
- Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- 13 1/4 × 16 in. (33.66 × 40.64 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.85.237.17
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Middle East: Islamic
- Curatorial Notes
This elegant calligraphy is the tuğra, or imperial monogram, of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman (r. 1520–66). Originally placed at the head of a royal document, it transforms the sultan’s name and titles and the formula "ever victorious" into a uniform and harmonious series of curved and vertical lines, while the actual letters are stacked close together in the lower portion. It serves to demonstrate the overwhelming concern for exquisite detail that characterizes the art of Suleiman’s reign in particular and Ottoman art in general.
- Selected Bibliography
- Binney, Edwin, 3rd. "Turkish Arts of the Book in the Binney Collection." Arts of Asia 17, no.6 (Nov/Dec 1987): 97-104.
