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Islamic Calligraphy Most important and fundamental aspect of Islamic art : WHY? • Ornament • Connec:on to sacred words of Qur’an • Talismanic connota:on (talisman: object embued with protec:ve powers)
• In architecture, reminds visitors of the purpose of the building: to worship God
• Unites Muslims in reading Arabic language
Islamic Calligraphy Many different scripts evolved over :me; some of the main ones are: • Kufi ca. 200 – 300 AD (Arabia) • Maghribi ca. 900 AD (Africa) • Thuluth ca. 900 AD; refined 1400s (Abbasid) • Naskh ca. 900 AD (Turkey) • Ta’liq ca. 1000 AD; standardized 1200s • Nasta’liq ca. 1400s, perfected 1500s (Persia) • Divani ca. 1500s (Turkey) • Riq’a ca. 1750 AD (Turkey)
Early examples of Islamic calligraphy: Umayyad caliphate
• Kufic script • Dome of the Rock ca. 691 AD Byzan:ne-‐style mosaic wri:ng of all the verses in the Qur’an that contain references to Chris:anity.
• Perhaps the first instance of calligraphy used as both decora:on and meaning.
• Page from the “Blue Qur’an” ca. 850 AD, Tunisia; gold and silver/indigo-‐dyed parchment
Kufi Script
• Developed in 200 – 300 AD, first wrijen form of Arabic.
• Developed originally for wri:ng on stone • Adopted for use in religious texts because of its formality.
• Angular lejer shapes • Short ver:cal strokes and long, extended horizontals
• Mostly obsolete because of difficulty in wri:ng
Maghribi script
• Maghribi means “western”, referring to its development ca. 900 AD in westernmost reaches of Islamic empire: northern Africa and Spain
• Used for wri:ng Qur’an as well as secular documents
• Descending strokes have large bowls with sweeping curves or loops
• S:ll used although in decline
Thuluth and Naskh script
• Thuluth is a larger, more formal script olen used for :tles
• Found in combina:on with Naskh, a smaller, highly legible script
• Both were developed ca. 900 AD and refined by the legendary calligrapher Seyh Hamdullah of Turkey, along with 4 other scripts.
• “Experts say you’re not a calligrapher un:l you can write thuluth.”
Tal’iq script
• Tal’iq means “hanging together”, referring to the connectedness of lejers unique to this script
• Used for official correspondence and other secular uses, such as lejers or transcrip:ons
• Formed ca. 1000 AD, standardized by 1200s • S:ll in use today • Descending lejers appear as loops • Lines ascend upwards as they move from right to lel.
Nasta’liq script
• Developed in 15th century to write the Persian language. • Secular usage, including poetry and other literary works • Hybrid of naskh and tal’iq styles • Ver:cal strokes are short, while horizontal strokes are
sweeping • Lejers appear to “float”, especially when wrijen
diagonally • Overall impression of fluidity and speed – most expressive
script • S:ll in use today
Nasta’liq script (Persian) • Developed out of a hybrid of Nasth and Ta’liq scripts (former for prose and lajer for administra:ve documents)
Sultan Ali Mashhadi + 3 students
Nasta’liq script Safavid period,
Persia, 1500s AD
hjp://www.asia.si.edu/explore/nastaliq/video.asp
Divani script
• Developed in 1500s during rule of Ojoman Empire in Turkey
• S:ll in use today • Used for official business: scrolls, edicts, appointments, court documents, etc.
• Wide spaces between lines, which ascend from right to lel
• Extreme styliza:on makes Divani hard to read
Riq’a script
• Developed to write the Turkish language for the late Ojoman bureaucracy ca. 1750 AD
• “Riq’a” means “patch of cloth” because it was olen wrijen on small scraps of paper
• Easier to learn and write than other scripts • S:ll in use today • Used widely for personal correspondence