OTTOMAN "DIVIT" FROM THE REIGN OF AHMED III (1703-1730) TRAVELLING PEN BOX Partially gilt silver, finely nielloed and chased, consisting of three long facetted tubular stylus cases one above the other, set between openwork panels formerly gilt, ending in domed stoppers held by chains. The octagonal inkwell has a bulbous wall decorated with poly-lobed reserves with floral stems on a foliate background. The top and bottom friezes are decorated with floral garlands. The tughra hallmark of the Ahmed III period (1703-1730) and "chechné" decorate the base of the inkwell. (One cap missing, small deformations, wear to the gilding). Turkey, Ottoman Empire, reign of Ahmed III (1703-1730). A PARCEL GILT AND NIELLO SILVER OTTOMAN SCRIBE'S TRAVELLING PEN-BOX AND INKWELL (DIVIT), WITH TUGHRA OF SULTAN AHMED III, FIRST HALF OF 18TH CENTURY. GROSS WEIGHT. 223 g. - LENGTH. 23 CM (9 1/16 IN.) NOTE - For a similar object, see the divit in The Walters Museum, no. 57.627, acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore, and bequeathed to the museum in 1931. - The central role of writing in Islamic societies has made calligraphy the most important visual art form. Portable pen cases (divit) were made with the greatest care and became art objects in their own right. Examples from Ottoman lands are characterised by pronounced end-pieces with an inkwell and a tubular arm that held the nibs. These pieces were often articulated and had a metal buckle for attaching to a belt. The yatate and divit elevated pen cases to the status of portable works of art. This object bears the tughra of Ahmad III (r. 1703-1730).