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Collections

Page of Calligraphy from an Album16th century

Not on view
Illustrated manuscript page with Persian calligraphy: bold diagonal script in central parchment panel, surrounded by a teal border of small text cartouches, and an outer margin with gold floral pattern
Title
Page of Calligraphy from an Album
Place Made
Iran
Date Made
16th century
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
15 1/4 × 10 1/2 in. (38.74 × 26.67 cm) Frame: 20 × 15 × 1 1/2 in. (50.8 × 38.1 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line
The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number
M.73.5.545
Classification
Manuscripts
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes

This album page features verses of Persian poetry, including love poetry written in a script known as nasta‘liq. First developed in Iran in the fourteenth century, nasta‘liq is a modification of the cursive naskh script, in which letterforms are smoothed and elongated and successive words are stacked atop one another, appearing suspended. By the fifteenth century, nasta‘liq became the principal calligraphic script used in regions where Persian was the primary literary language, including Iran, Central Asia, and Anatolia.

Selected Bibliography
  • Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.