Kâmil Akdik
1861–1941 · Istanbul
Kâmil Akdik was born in Fındıklı, Istanbul, on 29 November 1861, the son of a scribe at the imperial naval arsenal. After attending Fatih Rüşdiyesi he became a clerk in 1880 and studied for four years with Sâmi Efendi, who gave him an icazet in thuluth and naskh in 1884. At his teacher's wish he signed 'Ahmed Hâşim' from 1887 to 1890 before returning to 'Kâmil'. Appointed to the Imperial Chancery in 1894, he learned diwani, jali diwani and the tughra from Sâmi Efendi and wrote state documents. He succeeded his teacher as calligraphy instructor in 1909, taught at the Medresetü'l-Hattâtîn from 1914 and at Galatasaray from 1918, and from 1936 until his death at the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1915 he became the last holder of the title reisülhattâtîn. Invited to Egypt in 1935, he wrote the inscriptions of the mosque in the Manial Palace, Cairo. He died in Istanbul on 23 July 1941.
Achievements
- Received an icazet in thuluth and naskh from Sâmi Efendi in 1884.
- Was given the title reisülhattâtîn (chief of calligraphers) on 21 August 1915, the last calligrapher to hold it.
- Succeeded Sâmi Efendi in 1909 as calligraphy teacher of the Nişân-ı Hümâyun office.
- Taught thuluth-naskh at the Medresetü'l-Hattâtîn from 1914 and at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1936 until his death.
- Wrote the inscriptions of the mosque in Prince Mehmed Ali Tevfik's Manial Palace, Cairo (visit of 1935).
- Wrote a complete Qur'an; his collection of older masters' works was bought by the Topkapı Palace Museum.
Taught by: Süleyman Efendi, Sami Efendi
Taught: Hamid Aytaç, Mustafa Halim Özyazıcı, Necmeddin Okyay
His work
undated (before 1941) · collection not stated
Photo: Moyassarbahri, Wikimedia Commons (Kâmil Akdik فداك.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
1320 AH (1902) · collection not stated
Photo: Yasser elashry (uploader), Wikimedia Commons (3 5548bdf4e53a250b20cecaf9 copy.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
These are the works in open collections that can be attributed with certainty.
Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
Write in this tradition now →Living calligraphers you can buy from — signed originals on paper, from AED 550: Anwar Alhulwani (Thuluth) · Ahmed Alhawary (Jali Thuluth, Naskh) · Rasha Kasim (Kufi) — or every Thuluth piece the store makes: Thuluth collection.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'AKDİK, Kâmil' by M. Uğur Derman (1989): birth 29 Nov 1861 Fındıklı, father, icazet 1884, 'Ahmed Hâşim' signature, posts, reisülhattâtîn 21 Aug 1915, Egypt 1935 and 1940, death 23 Jul 1941, Eyüp Gümüşsuyu cemetery islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- Turkish Wikipedia: dates, posts, 1940 Cairo mosque inscriptions tr.wikipedia.org
- Arabic Wikipedia: Arabic name 'أحمد كامل آقديك', 1278–1360 AH, invited twice to Cairo, buried in Eyüp ar.wikipedia.org
- Wikidata item wikidata.org
Written by the MASHQ studio · last updated 2026-10-05. Further reading, the standard references in English: Sheila S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) · Annemarie Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York University Press, 1984) · Yasin Hamid Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy (Thames and Hudson, 1978).