(b Istanbul, 29 Jan 1883; d Istanbul, 5 Jan 1976). Turkish calligrapher. He attended the Ravzai Terakki school, where he received lessons in calligraphy from Mehmed Sevki and from Hasan Tal’at Bey. In 1905 he received permission to write in the ta’liq style from Sami (1838–1912) and in 1906 received permission for the thuluth and naskh styles from Bakkal Arif Efendi. Later, at the School of Calligraphers, he learnt to draw tughras and practised jali-thuluth (Turk. celi-sülüs) with Ismail Hakki Altinbezer (1870–1946). He also learnt from Shaykh Ethem Efendi the art of marbled paper, at which he became very skilful. His use of the surname Okyay came from his proficiency at archery. He succeeded his father as preacher and Imam at the Yenicami mosque at Üsküdar in Istanbul, where he remained for 40 years. He taught at the School of Calligraphers, the Oriental Decorative Arts School and finally at the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul, where he practised the ta’liq style with his pupils. In addition to writing, he explored many crafts and skills related to calligraphy. From Baha Efendi he learnt the art of Turkish classical bookbinding and made fine sunburst bindings, and in turn trained Emin Barin (b 1913) and Islam Seçen in this art. He also learnt how to polish paper, developed formulae for preparing different varieties of ink and was skilled at identifying unsigned works of calligraphy. Among his pupils was the calligrapher Ali Alparslan (b 1925).

• Okyay, Necmeddin
  • Sami
  • Turkey, §2: Painting and calligraphy