Dimensions of Written Surface: 20 (w) x 11.5 (h) cm

Script: thuluth, Persian naskh, and tawqi'

This fragmentary calligraphic panel includes a verse from the Qur'an (14:7) and praises to God executed in thuluth, Persian naskh, and tawqi' scripts (Selim 1979, 171). The Qur'anic verse is written in thuluth and taken from Surat Ibrahim (Abraham). It states "(And remember, your Lord caused to be declared): If you are grateful, I will add more favors to you, but if you show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible." The Qur'anic verse on the top line is followed by various praises of God and His favors to men written in the Persian naskh and tawqi' scripts.

The specimen is undated but signed in the lower left corner by Abu Muhammad Khan al-Ma'rashi. Not much is known about this calligrapher, except that he also executed a number of Qur'ans and calligraphic sheets in naskh and fine riq'ah scripts. One calligraphic exercise dated Safar 1165/Dec. 1751 and signed more fully "Abu Muhammad Khan b. Sayyad Ma'rashi al-Husayni al-Ma'rashi" survives in the collections of Istanbul University Library (Bayani 1358/1939, vol. 4 entry 37). Judging by the author's Persian name and the date of the piece in Istanbul, it seems most likely that he was active in Iran during the 18th century.

Thuluth and naskh scripts are quite closely related (as one can see from the top and middle texts) while the tawqi' script used diagonally in the lower part of the fragment differs by the fact that many letters are joined with ligatures in a playful and kinetic manner. The tawqi' script takes its name from signatures and decrees, and was used principally for scrolls, diplomas, and royal documents (Zakariya 1979, 24). Arab authors of treatises dealing with calligraphy, such as al-Qalqashandi (d. 821/1418), state that the use of ligatures (tarwis) or hair-line joints (tash'rat) connecting letters to one another was obligatory for the tawqi' script (Gacek 1989, 146). The ligatures, for example between the alif (a) and mim (m), form a loop in this sample of tawqi'.