The Golden Thread of Calligraphy

The Golden Thread, the exhibition organized by the Gazi Husrev Beg Library was on view at the Gallery of the Sarajevo Municipality Novi Grad. The Gazi Husrev Beg Library, founded in 1537, is one of the oldest in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has one of the largest and most important collections of oriental manuscripts in Europe. This institution tends to exhibit the works from their Ethnology Collection. Now, we have an opportunity to see the calligraphic works by Bosnian calligraphers, from the 19th and early 20th century.

This period was very fruitful when it comes to calligraphic production. The Ottoman rule in Bosnia has been replaced by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, in 1878. That complicated the situation in the culture field, but without significant consequences for calligraphy, which remained the dominant art among Bosnian Muslims for years to come. After all, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, some of the most significant calligraphy schools appeared.

The exhibition presents works by Husein Rakim Islamovic, Abdulah Ajna Hasagic, Ali Šerif Faginovic, Muhamed Akif Hadžihuseinovic, Mehmed beg Kapetanovic Ljubušak, Ahmed Seid Vilic, Muhamed Mujagic and several works by unknown authors. Each of the presented calligraphies has a specificity, so Ahmed Seid Vilic was a master of writing calligraphy in the form of tugra. For the first time, the manuscripts by Abdulah Ajna Hasagic are on view to the public. He was the founder of the first school for calligraphy in the 19th century, attended by many great calligraphers. He was especially good at small letters and knew Naskh and Taliq style very well. The exhibition also features two calligraphies made with golden thread by Mehmed beg Kapetanovic Ljubušak. He was a former mayor of Sarajevo and a great cultural worker. His literary work is well known, so this exhibition is an opportunity to present his excellent calligraphic works.

The Golden Threadwas opened by Semir Efendic, Mayor of Sarajevo Municipality Novi grad, and Osman Lavic, Director of Gazi Husrev Beg Library. The exhibition generally provides a good overview of calligraphic movements and achievements in Bosnia, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It can be an excellent basis for research and further deepening of this topic.