3. 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
4. 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)
5. 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
6. 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
9. 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
12. 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.”
16. 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.
19. 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
20. Nasta’liq
script
(Persian)
• Developed
out
of
a
hybrid
of
Nasth
and
Ta’liq
scripts
(former
for
prose
and
lajer
for
administra:ve
documents)
22. Sultan
Ali
Mashhadi
+
3
students
Nasta’liq
script
Safavid
period,
Persia,
1500s
AD
hjp://www.asia.si.edu/explore/
nastaliq/video.asp
23. 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
27. 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