Pen cases known as divit were used by calligraphers for carrying their pens and ink. They consist of a rectangular pen case with a lidded inkwell attached. This rectangular inkwell has an amethyst on the lid, which is engraved with the word Maşallah (believed to avert evil eye), the number 717, and below this an Arabic prayer in two lines inside cartouches: ‘O God who opens all locked doors, open the door that is most propitious for me.’ The base and rim of the inkwell and both ends of the pen case are decorated with gilded floral motifs. On the side of the pen case lid is the stamp of the maker, Mehmed Usta. Other examples of his stamp on divits dating from the first half of the 18th century show that he was an eminent craftsman of the period. This exquisite object bears the tuğra (imperial cipher) of Sultan Mahmud I (r. 1730-54) on the body of the pen case, and on the underside of the inkwell the stamped sah hallmark showing that it was assayed at the Mint and the silver found to meet the standard of 900 parts per thousand.
