Mehmed Nazif Bey (Hacı Nazif Bey)
1846–1913 · Rusçuk & Istanbul
Mehmed Nazif, also called Hacı Nazif Bey, was born in 1846 in Rusçuk (today Ruse, Bulgaria) to a family of Crimean Tatar origin, and entered the palace school (Enderun) in Istanbul. There Hâfız Abdülahad Vahdetî taught him thuluth and naskh and gave him his diploma at sixteen. He later joined the General Staff press, where for the rest of his life he lettered place names on lithographed maps, stretching words across large areas. In the early 1880s he met Sâmi Efendi, who taught him ta'lik, diwani and the tughra; past sixty he took a ta'lik diploma from Sâmi to keep the diploma tradition. He worked mostly in jali and was known for close copies of older masters. His signed jali ta'lik runs round the Yıldız clock tower (1890–91), and the jali thuluth on the covers of the Holy Mantle in Topkapı Palace is his. He died in Istanbul in 1913.
Achievements
- Lettered the place names on maps lithographed at the General Staff press, stretching words across large areas (TDV).
- Wrote the signed jali ta'lik inscription on the four sides of the Yıldız clock tower (1890–91).
- Wrote the jali thuluth embroidered on the covers of the Holy Mantle (Hırka-i Saâdet) kept in Topkapı Palace.
- Made close copies of older masters, including Yesârîzâde's 24-piece Hilye-i Hâkānî album.
- Could draw jali letters with a single pencil instead of a reed pen.
- Took a ta'lik diploma from Sâmi Efendi after the age of sixty to keep the diploma tradition.
Taught by: Hâfız Abdülahad Vahdetî Efendi, Mehmed Şefik Bey, Sami Efendi
His work
1890–1891 · Yıldız, Istanbul
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
before 1913 · Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
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, 'MEHMED NAZİF BEY': life 1846–1913, teachers, map lettering, Sâmi Efendi, works, inscriptions islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- Arabic Wikipedia: Arabic name form, Crimean Tatar family, nicknames, death 8 March 1913 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).