LONDON (Christies.com) -- Calligraphy, the art of beautiful handwriting, has a long and rich history in Islamic culture. It played a significant role in conveying the beauty and power of the word of Allah, and was used to decorate everything from religious texts to architecture.
Islamic calligraphy has a dual significance, since the manuscripts in which it appears are both religious documents and objects of beauty. Collectors admire the skill and mastery required to create the intricate and elegant designs, as well as appreciating their spiritual meaning and cultural significance. These enduring qualities continue to captivate people all over the world.
Through the ages, calligraphy masters have attempted to formally establish, or codify, a number of different types of script. The main division is between angular scripts — traditionally reserved for early Qur’ans and architectural decoration — and curved ones.
Among these curved scripts are the famous ‘Six Pens’ — six styles known as rayhan, muhaqqaq, naskh, thuluth, ta’liq and nasta’liq. Although codified in the medieval period, they have, remarkably, endured, and remain the main calligraphic styles today.
Prophet Muhammad’s first revelation — in which he was visited by the archangel Gabriel — is recorded in the Qur’an in Arabic, which was a key factor in calligraphy becoming the most revered of all art forms in the Islamic world. Monumental inscriptions, such as those of the Dome of the Rock in Al-Quds, appeared on mosques and shrines from as early as the 8th century.
However, although they were primarily used for decorating religious manuscripts and artifacts, fine scripts quickly found their way onto secular objects, being valued for their aesthetic qualities even in non-religious contexts.
The early form of Arabic script is quite challenging to read, even for a native speaker. Copies of the Qur’an at that time would have served as an aide-memoire for those who had already memorized the text by heart, so the elegance of the stretched forms of the letters could take precedence over practical communication.
The strong minimalistic aesthetic of the black text on white, highlighted with small red and green reading marks, gives a sense of the spirituality of this folio, which one can feel even without knowing the meaning of the text.
One of the most highly developed and valued forms of artistic production in North India and Persia was the creation of elaborate albums combining fine examples of calligraphy and delicate paintings. The individual elements of an album page were often drawn from different sources, resulting in a combination of works produced in a variety of locations at different times.
Sultan ‘Ali was the favorite court calligrapher of Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara (r. 1469-1506) and was acquainted with both Amir ‘Ali-Shir Nava’i and ‘Abd al-Rahman Jami. His works include some of the finest Persian and Turkish manuscripts composed

for the Timurid court, such as a copy of ‘Attar’s Mantiq al-Tayar or ‘Conference of the Birds’ now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Because calligraphy was traditionally revered above painting and illumination, we have extensive records of calligraphers and their biographies, particularly from the 15th century onwards. Works signed by eminent court calligraphers, often richly embellished with illumination, are highly sought-after today.
The tughra is an important form of calligraphic signature, or seal, used extensively in the Islamic world. This form of seal — with highly sophisticated overlapping letters restricted into a confined area — developed into an elaborate signature for rulers throughout the Eastern Islamic world, being used by figures including the Mughal, Safavid and Ottoman emperors.
Formed of the name and titles of each ruler, the tughra was an elegant and individual mark of imperial authority. Such marks, appearing across a variety of artworks, can be vital when dating pieces — particularly those of the Ottoman empire. The manuscript above, for example, is illuminated with the tughra of Sultan Abdulhamid I.
The tradition of learning calligraphy from a master started as early as the 10th century, and continues today. Long and illustrious lineages of calligraphers are known — one of the earliest and most revered masters being the scribe Ibn al-Bawwab (who died circa 1022 AD). These lineages became very important in the Ottoman Empire, where leading artists were employed by the imperial palace in Istanbul.
While pieces produced by ancient masters can fetch very high prices, 19th- and 20th-century works can be a good first purchase for emerging collectors. Offered at Christie’s in 2021, a mid-19th-century Ottoman calligraphic panel by the Turkish-born artist ‘Abd al-Fattah Effendi uses a striking script called jali thuluth, mostly favored by Ottoman artists for monumental inscriptions.