Calligraphy, from the Greek kallos (beauty) and graphein (to write) is the art of beautiful writing. The script in which the Qur’an was written developed over the centuries and provided Islamic art with its most constant decorative character. The art of calligraphy was not limited to the Qur’an. Literary texts and albums of portraits, textiles, tiles, ceramics, and objects in daily use were prepared with the same diligence. However, this tradition in Islamic art was focused largely in the arts of the book.
Although the development of sophisticated calligraphy as an art form is not unique to Islamic culture, it has been used to a much greater extent and in varied ways, and in all art forms and materials in Islamic civilizations.
The standard writing instrument was the reed pen (Arabic: qalam; Greek: kalamos). Trimming the pen correctly was as important as knowing the rules of writing, for each style of script required a nib trimmed to a different shape. The nib was cut to the desired shape with a sharp penknife, and a small incision in the nib guaranteed an even flow of ink. Quills were rarely used although in later times a few calligraphers used steel pens. Chinese and early Indian calligraphers used brushes.
The ink used on early parchment manuscripts was made from gall-nuts and metallic salts; it stained the support and often appeared brownish. Black carbon ink, used on papyrus and paper, was made of soot and could be washed off easily. Coloured ink was used in documents and Qur’ans where gold letters highlighted important words such as the name of God.
The ink was kept in an inkwell, which often formed part of a pen box. These were made of various materials ranging from brass to porcelain and were richly decorated. To control the amount of ink picked up by the pen, loose threads of raw silk or cotton were placed inside the inkwell. Elaborately decorated metalwork pen boxes and inkwells are among the finest objects associated with writing in the medieval Islamic world.
Guidance by a master was essential in this art. The calligrapher resembled the Sufi, entrusting himself to a master who not only taught him the outward skills, such as the correct position for writing, ink preparation, pen trimming, but also introduced him to the etiquette demanded of calligraphers: should be modest and should maintain a state of ritual purity (as required for reciting or writing the Qur’an). The master often instructed disciples in the secrets of letters according to the mystical tradition: each letter of the alphabet had not only an outward form and a numerical value but also an inner meaning.
Family members were often instructed by their elders, and thus a number of women were instructed in the art. After many years of instruction and practice copying classical works, the calligrapher received his ijāza, permission to sign his pages.
Elaborately decorated pen boxes and inkwells are among the finest objects associated with writing in the medieval Islamic world. Pen boxes were both practical and symbolic: they served as the scribes’ tools, but they also represented the power of the state.
Sources:
Annie Vernay-Nouri, Caaligraphy and Scripts in the Islamic World, Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum: Arts of the Book & Calligraphy
Calligraphic Tradition in Islam, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (accessed December 2015)
Strokes and Hairlines, Elegant Writing and its Place in Muslim Book Culture, McGill University Library (accessed December 2015)
Compiled by Nimira Dewji
Ismailimail 