A maqta (Turkish: makta) is a slab used for the cutting and sharpening of a calligrapher's pen. It means literally "place to cut." The pen is placed on the molded holding spot at the one end to keep it steady for the cutting process, while the tip of the pen is placed on the rectangular slab in the center of the makta. These two elements are easily distinguished as they are usually made of different materials (most commonly ivory or some sort of other bone) than the rest of the makta. Cutting slabs can be made from a wide variety of materials such as gold, tortoiseshell, ivory and other forms of bone, wood, silver, and mother of pearl. They also can be modestly decorated or very elaborately ornamented.

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