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Calligraphy under the Abbasid Caliphate Sources and notes
Maryam Ekhtiyar, How to Read Islamic Calligraphy (New York, 2018), pp. 25–34.

Blair, Sheila. “Transcribing God’s Word: Qurʼan Codices in Context.” Journal of Qurʼanic Studies 10, no. 1 (2008): 71–97. doi:10.3366/E1465359109000242.

http://www.islamic-art.org/ArticlesOnline/BArchViewPage.asp?ArticleID=350&PO=1

Bloom, J (Jonathan M). “The Introduction of Paper to the Islamic Lands and the Development of the Illustrated Manuscript.” Muqarnas 17 (2000): 17–23. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.wellesley.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000022301&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Farhad, Massumeh; Rettig, Simon (2016). The art of the Qurʼan: treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts. François Déroche, Edhem Eldem, Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Sana Mirza, Zeren Tanındı, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. pp. 68–73. ISBN 978-1-58834-578-3.

Onat, Sema (2015). Islamic Art of Illumination: Classical Tazhib From Ottoman to Contemporary Times. Clifton, NJ: Blue Dome Press. ISBN 978-1-935295-82-2.

Vegetal forms, including stylized leaves, stems and buds (such as the gonca, or unopened flower)

illumination


 * New script illumination (72-73)
 * Illuminators had to adapt
 * increased importance of circle in full-page designs
 * Balanced the frontispiece by writing first sura on left hand page
 * Additional decorative elements to denote division in text
 * Early abbasid manuscripts (68)
 * used geometry and vegetal shapes
 * ornamentation at the beginning and end volumes and between suras
 * frontispieces didn't have words

-Indicative of calligraphic and manuscript practices in the heart of the Abbasid Caliphate

-The Amajur Qur'an


 * The Qur'an was endowed by Amajur -- the Abbasid Governor of Damascus from 870-878
 * Representative of the standard for Qur'anic manuscripts at the time
 * Copied in tanish brown ink
 * Copied on parchment
 * Codex is assembled differently than Western counterparts
 * Made with quires with five folios
 * This Qur'an was precious during its time --> indicative of a larger trend
 * Only three lines of script per page
 * Also a huge manuscript

Ekhtiyar


 * Earliest style of script was Kufic - distinguished by precise, angular letters, generous spacing, horizontal extension of letters at baseline and an emphasis on geometric proportion (27)
 * Qur'ans written with this script were typically written in a horizontal format (this became more popular in second half of 8th century) (27)
 * They were also written on parchment (27)
 * During the height of the caliphate (9th century) a new style of script was introduced. "New Abbasid style" was characterized by vertical letters, extreme angularity, and a distinct contrast between the width of strokes. (27)
 * This also came in tandem with a shift in orientation back to vertical
 * This type of script was also used for secular purposes like legal documents because of its efficiency

-the influence of Ibn Muqlah and the development of the proportional script

Ekhtiyar


 * Abu 'Ali Muhammad Ibn Muqla was an Abbasid vizier and calligrapher (866-940) (28)
 * Credited with broadening the scope of Arabic calligraphy (28)
 * His scripts and styles were so influential that his work became the basis of the study of Islamic calligraphy from the 10th century onward (28) --> his pupils emulated his work
 * Developed proportional writing system around two shapes: a circle the size of an alif and rhomboid dots that could be created with the nib of a reed pen (29)
 * From these geometric principles, he created about six different classical scripts (al-aqlam al-sitta): naskh, thuluth, muhaqqaq, rayhan, tawqi', and riqa. (29)
 * Each script was intended to fulfill a certain purpose (smaller scripts like naskh were better for copying normal literature and small qur'ans whereas bigger scripts like muhaqqaq were better suited to large qur'ans). scripts like thuluth were used to decorate objects and architecture and rayhan was used for chancellory documents (29-30)