Ottoman almanac and calendrical scroll

Darendevi, Muhammad ibn Isma'il. Ruzname-i Darendevi [Darendevi Calendar].

€ 14.000,00

An Ottoman Turkish manuscript calendrical scroll, decorated with gold. By repute, this Ottoman scroll was formerly in the collection of Warren Hastings, Governor-General of India. The manuscript bears the title "Ruzname-i Darendevi" ("Darendevi Calendar"), which follows the calendar prototype giving prayer times for Istanbul established by Mehmed Darendevi (d. 1739). Little is known about him other than that he came from the town of Darende in central Anatolia.

This scroll boasts numerous tables and charts, many bordered in gold gilt, and begins with a large gold tezhib headpiece. Calendrical scrolls of this type go beyond a simple account of days; they comprise not only calendar dates and holidays but prayer times, horoscopes, and more, all set into tables ruled in red and black. The margins are reserved for careful instructions to the user, and explanations of the tables.

The colophon, in the illuminated roundel before the beginning of the text itself, reads: "harrarahu ad'af al-kuttab mustafa al-ma'ruf bi-hikmati-i thani 1233" ("The weakest of servants [of God], Mustafa known as Hikmati [Hikmeti] the Second wrote it, 1233 [1817/18]").

A similar, slightly later manuscript can be seen in the collection of the University of Pennsylvania (Ms. Roll 1906 Haza ruzname-yi Darendevi), by a scribe also using the name Hikmet.