The well-known Iranian artist, Parviz Tanavoli, created two collections of hand-colored screen prints titled Manners and Exercise Writing (M.2019.51.2.1-.5), inspired by the lessons and schoolbooks from his youth. Based on an earlier, lesser-known series from the 1960s, these two portfolios from 2016 mimic the writing boards given to children to use in their lessons. Tanavoli cleverly places the viewer in the same position that he once was, perhaps to advise them to remember their manners.

The prints in the Manners series feature catchy rhymes in Persian that are intended to promote the good behavior of children. One, roughly translated, reads, “If you are polite and clean, you will be dear to everyone.” Each phrase is rendered in bold calligraphy and then copied multiple times in fainter, dashed lines—a nod to the process of repetition and memorization through which the lesson, along with good penmanship, could be learned. Many of the sayings center around the word adab, of Arabic origin, which connotes proper etiquette and graceful disposition, but in a more classical sense refers to generally moralistic literature and belles lettres. Tanavoli includes colorful images of male students in Qajar-era school uniforms to complement the written components of his prints. Through their style of dress referencing a bygone time, the students, who are themselves engaged in reading, invoke the values of classical education and self-cultivation.