Ottoman Prayer Book Copied by Häfiz Muhammad b. Häfiz Ibrahim Turkey, dated 1185 AH / 1771 AD, Ottoman Empire 18 x 11 x 1.5 cm This beautiful and richly illuminated Ottoman collection is a compilation of prayers. The opening folio as well as the introductions to each of the prayers are richly illuminated in polychrome and gold, with floral motifs and mandorles. The texts, written in black and red ink, are interspersed with gold rosettes and framed in gold. It ends with a colophon delicately illuminated with polychrome flowers on a gold background, stating: "completed by Hafiz Muhammad b. Hafiz Ibrahim, imam of the Muradiye Mosque, in the middle of the month of Rabi' al-awwal in the year 1185" [around June 27, 1771]. The European brown morocco binding is embossed with gold in large central medallions framed with a frieze of grecias and four flowers at the corners.