Inlaid Scribe's Desk
Ottoman Turkey, Late 17th century
Wood, mother-of-pearl, tortoise shell, ivory
47.5 cm high, 72 cm wide and 40 cm deep
This item contains less than 10% ivory and has been registered with Defra.
47.5 cm high, 72 cm wide and 40 cm deep
This item contains less than 10% ivory and has been registered with Defra.
A4138
Further images
This Ottoman scribe's desk was made during the 17th century, as both a writing surface and storage for the calligrapher's tools. The desk is supported by four elaborate bracket-style feet. The front side has three lockable drawers.
The surface is inlaid with mother-of-pearl and tortoise shell in various different patterns. The drawers at the front are decorated with split leaf arabesques, while the remaining sides are decorated with a geometric design known as girih.
This desk would have been used by scribes for producing calligraphy, which, as a vehicle for the word of God, was a highly valued art form. It belongs to a group described in 17th-century inventories as pīştahta, and is listed as one of the main assets of scholars, along with their books.[1] The use of mother-of-pearl inlay increased in the mid-16th century, coinciding with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.[2]
An example dating to the 17th century is in the British Museum (accession no. 1991,0717.2) has particularly similar girih ornamentation on either end of the desk. Another, dating to ca. 1675–1700, is in the Louvre Lens (RFML.AI.2021.14.1.1). This example shares with ours a very similar arabesque at the front of the desk.
Identical mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell inlay can be found on the doors at the Baghdad Pavilion of Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, which was constructed in the 17th century.
[1] Kale, Gül. 'Stuff of the Mind: Mother-of-Pearl Table Cabinets of Ottoman Scholars in the Early Modern Period', in Bethany J. Walker and Abdelkader Al Ghouz (eds) Living with Nature and Things: Contributions to a New Social History of the Middle Islamic Periods. Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2020, pp. 577–635: p. 580.
[2] Ibid., p. 586.
The surface is inlaid with mother-of-pearl and tortoise shell in various different patterns. The drawers at the front are decorated with split leaf arabesques, while the remaining sides are decorated with a geometric design known as girih.
This desk would have been used by scribes for producing calligraphy, which, as a vehicle for the word of God, was a highly valued art form. It belongs to a group described in 17th-century inventories as pīştahta, and is listed as one of the main assets of scholars, along with their books.[1] The use of mother-of-pearl inlay increased in the mid-16th century, coinciding with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.[2]
An example dating to the 17th century is in the British Museum (accession no. 1991,0717.2) has particularly similar girih ornamentation on either end of the desk. Another, dating to ca. 1675–1700, is in the Louvre Lens (RFML.AI.2021.14.1.1). This example shares with ours a very similar arabesque at the front of the desk.
Identical mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell inlay can be found on the doors at the Baghdad Pavilion of Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, which was constructed in the 17th century.
[1] Kale, Gül. 'Stuff of the Mind: Mother-of-Pearl Table Cabinets of Ottoman Scholars in the Early Modern Period', in Bethany J. Walker and Abdelkader Al Ghouz (eds) Living with Nature and Things: Contributions to a New Social History of the Middle Islamic Periods. Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2020, pp. 577–635: p. 580.
[2] Ibid., p. 586.