The art of Arabic calligraphy is closely tied to the preservation of the Qur’an as it emerged primarily to ornament the text of the Qur’an in its written form. Although the earliest manuscripts of the Qur’an are written in a rather plain script, manuscripts from the eighth century onwards show that calligraphy soon developed into a highly decorative art form used to preserve the revealed Word of God. For this reason, calligraphy was widely considered the most noble of the art forms. Over the last 1400 years, artists from different regions and periods have explored the creative possibilities of using calligraphy as a form of ornament.This week’s session explores the main developments in Arabic calligraphy through original and reproductions of Qu’ran manuscripts as well as works of art from the seventh century to the present.
This session is being offered as part of a series of tutorials and workshops as part of an Islamic Arts & Architecture Course. If you would like to sign up for other sessions in the series in addition to this, you can sign up for multiple sessions using this link:
Course: Islamic Art & Architecture Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite
The general layout of each session will be: two hours of tutor-led teaching and discussion, followed by one hour of related interactive or creative activity in a workshop format (depending on topic). Participants will be given the opportunity to see original objects up close.
Course Tutor: Dr. Neelam Hussain, historian of intellectual and cultural history with a specialist focus on the material culture of the Islamic world. She is also the curator of Middle-Eastern manuscripts at the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham. She has experience of teaching on modules in Islamic arts, art history, and medieval material culture and history modules.
