Page of Calligraphy

Sultan Muhammad Nur

early 16th century · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

Poetry, calligraphic exercises, and headings have been pasted onto both sides of this folio. The text, which was written in several different hands, includes nasta’liq, ta’liq shikasta, muhaqqaq, and thuluth scripts. A poem written diagonally by the calligrapher Sultan Muhammad Nur uses religious imagery to describe the beauty of the beloved, and the large writing to the left of the poem is a calligraphic exercise in which the letter shin is repeated several times.

Artist

Sultan Muhammad Nur

Date

early 16th century

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome A. Straka Gift, 1982