A MONUMENTAL CALLIGRAPHIC PANEL (LEVHA), SIGNED BY RASA, SYRIA, OTTOMAN, DATED 1312 AH/1894-95 AD

Christie's London, 19 October 1993, lot 18.

N. Safwat, A Collector’s Eye. Islamic calligraphy in Qur’ans and other manuscripts, London 2010, no.81, pp.298-9.

The calligrapher can possibly be identified with Muhammad Yusuf Raza (d.1916) who worked under the patronage of Sultan Adbulhamid (r.1876-1909) and was commissioned to produce the calligraphy of the mihrab in the great mosque of Damascus. A master of thuluth, when he moved to Syria he also taught the famous Muhammad Hosni, also known as Muhammad Kamal Hosny al-Baba. The line in muhaqqaq reads 'the steadiness of the country is with justice', while the panels above and below mention the benefits of having a just Sultan.