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'Id (Feast Day) Blessing
This calligraphic panel executed in nasta'liq script on a beige paper sprinkled with gold flecks is provided with a (water-damaged) frame and is pasted to a brown piece of paper strengthened with...
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'Id (Feast Day) Quatrain
This calligraphic fragment shows a ruba'i (iambic pentameter quatrain), written in nasta'liq script by the calligrapher Muhammad Qamar al-Din. He has signed the quatrain in the lower-left corner with...
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Three Ghazals by Tabib Isfahani
This calligraphic fragment contains three ghazals (lyrical poems) by 'Abd al-Baqi, known as Tabib Isfahani. He was a tabib (court physician) to the Persian ruler Nadir Shah (ruled 1736−47) and a...
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Invocations to 'Ali
This calligraphic fragment includes two bayts (verses) invoking the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law 'Ali through his various epithets. Beginning with an invocation ya 'Ali al-a'ala (to 'Ali as the...
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A Praise of Calligraphy
This calligraphic fragment includes several verses praising the practice of calligraphy. Beginning with an invocation of Allahu Akbar (God, the Great), the verses then read: “I have brought a small...
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Verses on the Beloved
This calligraphic fragment includes four lines of Persian poetry describing the heavenly scent and life-endowing capabilities of the beloved: “Although musk smells fragrant / It does not breathe life...
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Page from an Unidentified Text
The recto and verso of his calligraphic fragment contain portions of an unidentified Persian text about the futility of the world. The text continues on the fragment's verso, which includes a chapter,...
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The Sound of Insanity
This calligraphic fragment includes four verses of poetry in Persian describing the simple mark and sound of insanity (i.e., the chain). The verses read: “I and the chain that / Were walking and...
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Persian Prose and Poetry
This calligraphic fragment is executed in gold ink on brown leather. The text is written in shikastah-nasta'liq and comprises a selection of Persian excerpts in both nazm (poetry) and naskh (prose)....
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Qur'anic Verses
These fragments belong to a series of three folios cut out from the same manuscript, now in the Library of Congress. The first two provide verses from chapters 78−79 of the Qur'an. The first...
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Sample Calligraphies
This panel's main inscription is contained in an elongated oval and reads: Khan Bahadur Sayyid 'Ayn al-Din Sahib Madar al-Mahamm Riyasat Ditya Dama Iqbaluhu. The ruler's name, probably Ditya, and his...
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Qur'anic Verses
These fragments include verses from the 17th chapter of the Qur'an entitled Bani Isra'il (The Children of Israel) or al-Isra' (The night journey). Surat Bani Isra'il describes a number of events,...
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Qur'anic Verses
These two calligraphic fragments include verses from the 11th chapter of the Qur'an, entitled Hud (The prophet Hud). The first fragment's verso includes verses (116−23) of Surat Hud, as well as the...
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Praises to Husayn
This calligraphic fragment provides repeated al-salam 'alayka (Shi'i blessings) in Arabic directed to Husayn, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson through his son-in-law 'Ali. He is addressed by his many...
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Insha' (Literary Composition or Letter)
This calligraphic fragment belongs to a series of 22 insha' (literary compositions or letters) written by the calligraphers Mir Kalan, Khan Zaman (son of Khan Khanan), Qa'im Khan, Lutfallah Khan, and...
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Qur'anic Verses
This calligraphic fragment includes verses 25−33 of the 35th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Fatir (The originator of creation). The text continues with verses 33−40 on the folio's verso. These...
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Bahram Gur in the Yellow Pavilion
This text describes an episode from the Haft Paykar (Seven thrones) of Niẓāmī Ganjavī (died 1202−3), the fourth book from his Khamsah (Quintet). In this romantic allegory of love and frustration,...
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On the Lovers’ Passion
This calligraphic fragment includes an anecdote about the ishtiyaq-i muhibb va mahbub (passion of the lover and the beloved), as written in red ink in the upper-right corner. As the author then notes,...
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Decorative Borders
The recto of this calligraphic fragment includes verses composed by the famous Persian poet Ḥāfiẓ (died 1388−89, AH 791), as well as a number of other verses framed in rectangular bands along the...
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Calligraphy
This calligraphic fragment includes a poem in Persian that describes a ruler's duty to share his wealth. The verses read: “Majesty and Affection of Poets / If a variety of ripe peaches are brought to...
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