The well-known Iranian artist, Parviz Tanavoli, created two collections of hand-colored screen prints titled Manners (M.2019.51.1.1-.6) and Exercise Writing, 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.

The screen prints from the Exercise Writing series include popular sayings related to animals that are used idiomatically in Persian to express opinions on human nature or generic words of wisdom. One reads, “Kindness towards the sharp-toothed leopard is cruelty towards sheep.” 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. Tanavoli cleverly places the viewer in the same position that he once was, perhaps to advise them to remember their manners, or adab. Of Arabic origin, the word adab in Persian encapsulates a sense of proper etiquette and cultural refinement, but in a more classical sense refers to generally moralistic literature and belles lettres. Animal fables, from which the well-known sayings included in the Exercise Writing series might derive, form a significant part of this classical literary genre. In Tanavoli’s prints, examples of animals reminiscent of imagery from children’s books or folk craft traditions illustrate each saying with a pop of color.