Kayışzade Hafız Osman Nuri Efendi Hatlı Mushaf-ı Şerif

KAYIŞZÂDE HÂFIZ OSMAN NÛRİ was born in Burdur. For this reason, he is also known by the nisba Burdurî. Often confused with the great Hâfız Osman, the calligrapher sometimes recorded his name in the colophons of his works as Burdurî Kayışzâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc Hâfız Osman Nûri. In addition to his religious studies, he learned the thuluth and naskh scripts from Kazasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi and received his ijazah (license). Having spent his life transcribing the Mushaf, Hâfız Osman Efendi passed away while leading the tarawih prayer on the 4th of Ramadan 1311 (March 11, 1894), while bowing in ruku', just as he had reached the 12th verse of Surah Yusuf while writing his 107th Mushaf. As one of the prominent calligraphers of the Kazasker Mustafa Izzet school, the artist displayed great skill in both transcribing the Mushaf and refining the naskh script. His Mushaf-ı sharifs, written in the "âyet-berkenar" (verse-ending) layout, which has been printed and distributed throughout the Islamic world many times since the late 19th century, achieved great fame alongside the Mushaf of the same layout by Hasan Rızâ Efendi (d. 1920), another calligrapher of this school. These Mushafs, also known as "Mushaf-ı huffâz," were preferred by the public over others as they facilitated memorization of the Quran and were noted for their clear, legible, and beautiful script. In addition to the works Kayışzâde Hâfız Osman contributed to the art of calligraphy, he is also known to have trained many students. It has been prepared as a prayer desk (rahle) size, on coated paper, as a facsimile edition, in a special binding, and housed in a special leather box.