1. Written In Stone: Inscriptions from National Museum of Saudi
Many people in the Western world have difficulty understanding the special status of calligraphy in Asia and the Middle East. For the East Asians and Muslims, however, calligraphy has more status than any other art form, although the reasons are quite different. For the Chinese and Japanese, the written word is virtually a window on the soul of the communicator--a reflection not merely of skill but rather of the very character and cultivation of the person wielding the brush. For the Muslims, on the other hand, the written word is an instrument of God's will. The result in both cases is a rich artistic tradition.
Calligraphy reached a high degree of perfection in the Islamic world, where representational art was spurned and Arabic script offered rich possibilities for creative fantasy (Art of Islam: Language and Meaning, 47).
Oral tradition was paramount among the Arabs in pre-Islamic days, and poets were the memory of their tribe. Then the Arabs felt the need to write down their stories, first simply as an aide-memoire, using only a few signs. With the advent of Islam in the seventh century A.D. writing began to be important because it gave visual form to the word of God. The Qur'an, the first book written in Arabic, played a key role in its development and the evolution of calligraphy. Princes and princesses practiced copying out the Sacred Book in beautiful script. .
Precise practices were laid down. The writing instrument was the calamus, a sharpened reed still used by calligraphers. The method of sharpening it was most important, for it varied with different scripts. The ink was prepared with meticulous care and (like the calamus) in strict secrecy. .
Ink was of many colors including black, brown, yellow, red, blue, white, silver, and gold. Black and brown inks were often used, since their intensities and consistencies could vary greatly. Many calligraphers provided instructions on how to prepare ink, while others implied that their recipes were guarded secrets.
The calligraphy found on Islamic architecture utilizes the use of the Arabic lettering. ... Since Arabic is such an exclusive language this type of calligraphy is already unique compared to others in the world because of the language barrier. ... The same style of calligraphy is normally repeated through the entire structure. ... This type of Arabic lettering placed on this tomb is extremely stylized Arabic lettering. ... Another element of calligraphy that makes Islamic architecture unique is the stone calligraphic bands found on many buildings. ...
The gestural curves of the Aramaic alphabet evolved into Hebrew and Arabic alphabets. The 2 primary forms of Arabic writing are Kufic (Kufa, Mesopotamia) and Naskhi, a more cursive style which evolved into the modern Arabic script. Arabic is the second most used alphabet used today. ... In 280 BCE, Li Ssu created the third phase in the evolution of Chinese calligraphy called Hsiao Chuan (small seal) style, which had thicker lines and flowed more....
Her calm face is divided by the starkness of the cold, steel weapon and is laced with Islamic calligraphy symbolic of the Niqab, a more extreme veil that an Islamic woman must wear as it signifies her obedience to the male supremacy in Islamic culture. ... The Arabic inscriptions that create the veil act as a barrier. ... He combines a long standing fascination with classical Chinese calligraphy with a contemporary take on universal concerns that cross cultural and ethnic boundaries. ... Gu's 1994-96 work "Pseudo Characters Contemplation of the World"" is a series of ink paintings in whic...
The main aspects of decoration consists of calligraphic panels with quotations from the Quran on themes of worship, divine forgiveness and, above all, religious orthodoxy. ... It was said that, The gold Arabic foundation inscription over the main entrance gives the dates of construction as 1550 to 1557, and sums up Suleimans claim to universal rule by both secular and divine right. ...
Role of Women in Islam The actual role of a woman in a particular Muslim community may vary according to the part of the world she lives in; nonetheless all Muslim women abide by the same fundamental rules and regulations that the religion clearly defines (Badawi.) Both the Quran and the Hadith ...
This report is about the rise and fall of a Turkish Sultan named Selim III. Selim was born into power and was put to death by an angry revolting power within his own people. Just as Sultan Selim was an amazing modern reformer, he also fell short of his expectations. Selim III was born December 2...
