Necmeddin Okyay
1883–1976 · Istanbul
Mehmed Necmeddin Okyay was born in Üsküdar, Istanbul, on 28 January 1883, the son of a court scribe who was also an imam. At school he received an icazet in riq'a and diwani from Hasan Talat Bey. He then studied with Sâmi Efendi, taking icazets in ta'liq in 1905 and in thuluth-naskh in 1906; on Sâmi's advice he worked mainly in ta'liq. From Edhem Efendi of the Özbekler lodge he learned marbling (ebru) and paper preparation, and he later took up bookbinding with the help of Bahâeddin Efendi and learned ink-making and archery. From 1916 he taught ebru at the Medresetü'l-Hattâtîn and continued at its successor schools and the Academy of Fine Arts until he retired in 1948. His floral marbling is known as 'Necmeddin ebrusu'. He served as imam of the Yeni Valide Mosque in Üsküdar until 1947. Called 'Hezarfen' for his many crafts, he was known for identifying unsigned calligraphy. He died in Istanbul on 5 January 1976.
Achievements
- Received icazets from Sâmi Efendi in ta'liq (1905) and in thuluth-naskh (1906).
- Taught ebru and paper sizing at the Medresetü'l-Hattâtîn from 1916, and later at the Academy of Fine Arts until 1948.
- Devised floral marbling (tulips, carnations, hyacinths), known as 'Necmeddin ebrusu'.
- Wrote the jali ta'liq and Latin-letter inscription on Pierre Loti's house in Çemberlitaş.
- Wrote the gravestone of İsmail Hakkı Altunbezer and his father in Karacaahmet.
- Gave most of his calligraphy collection to the Topkapı Palace Museum in 1960.
Taught by: Hasan Talat Bey, Filibeli Hacı Ârif Efendi, Sami Efendi, Kâmil Akdik, İsmail Hakkı Altunbezer, Özbekler Tekkesi şeyhi Edhem Efendi
Taught: A. Süheyl Ünver, Mustafa Düzgünman, Ali Alparslan, M. Uğur Derman, Emin Barın, Feyzullah Dayıgil, Muhsin Demironat, his sons Nebih, Sâmi and Sâcit
His work
No work of certain attribution is yet in an open collection we may publish.
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, 'OKYAY, Mehmed Necmeddin' by M. Uğur Derman (2007): birth 28 Jan 1883 Toygartepe, teachers and icazets, ebru, teaching, imamate, Pierre Loti inscription, collection, students, death 5 Jan 1976 islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- Turkish Wikipedia: crafts, Okmeydanı case, roses, works, legacy tr.wikipedia.org
- Arabic Wikipedia (Hasan Çelebi article): Arabic form of his name, نجم الدين أوقياي 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).