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It is a central form of decoration in Islamic art, such as decorative design and architecture. The evolution of Arabic calligraphy lead to the appearance of various scripts, including cursive styles such as Nastaliq and Ruq'ah, and more square, angular styles such as Kufic. The linguistic features of Arabic scripts are shared between all ...
David Wade [b] states that "Much of the art of Islam, whether in architecture, ceramics, textiles or books, is the art of decoration – which is to say, of transformation." [10] Wade argues that the aim is to transfigure, turning mosques "into lightness and pattern", while "the decorated pages of a Qur’an can become windows onto the infinite."
[2] [3] It is known in Arabic as khatt Arabi (خط عربي), which translates into Arabic line, design, or construction. [ 4 ] The development of Islamic calligraphy is strongly tied to the Qur'an ; chapters and excerpts from the Qur'an are a common and almost universal text upon which Islamic calligraphy is based.
Calligraphy is a central element of Islamic art, combining aesthetic appeal and religious message. Sometimes it is the dominant form of ornament; at other times it is combined with arabesque. [35] The importance of the written word in Islam ensured that epigraphic or calligraphic decoration played a prominent role in architecture. [36]
Naskh [a] is a smaller, round script of Islamic calligraphy.Naskh is one of the first scripts of Islamic calligraphy to develop, commonly used in writing administrative documents and for transcribing books, including the Qur’an, because of its easy legibility.
Calligraphy is the practice or art of decorative handwriting. [3] The demand for calligraphy in the early stages of the Islamic empire (circa 7–8th century CE) can be attributed to a need to produce Qur'an manuscripts. During the Umayyad period, Kufic scripts were typically seen in Qur'an manuscripts. [3]
Calligraphic design is omnipresent in Islamic art, where, as in Europe in the Middle Ages, religious exhortations, including Qur'anic verses, may be included in secular objects, especially coins, tiles and metalwork, and most painted miniatures include some script, as do many buildings.
One impressive example of an early Quran manuscript, known as the Blue Quran, features gold Kufic script on parchment dyed with indigo. It is commonly attributed to the early Fatimid or Abbasid court. The main text of this Quran is written in gold ink, thus the effect on looking at the manuscript is of gold on blue.