Eternal Letters

Showcasing thirteen hundred years of Qur’anic calligraphy, this lavishly illustratedcatalogue presents over 80 Qur’ans and Qur’an folios from a prominent privatecollection. For the specialist connoisseur and those new to the field of Islamiccalligraphy alike, this publication presents a fresh perspective on this essential areaof Islamic Art. The catalogue accompanies an exhibition at the Sharjah Museum ofIslamic Civilization.Arabic calligraphy, with its sinuous lines, is recognizable to nearly anyone anywheretoday. Its aesthetic appeal transcends cultural boundaries, yet if one were to travel backin time and show it to the inhabitants of Arabia in the first century ce, they wouldnot recognize it; for it simply did not exist. It would have beggared belief that a newalphabet from this part of the world would spread to the confines of the earth andbecome a major vehicle for the dissemination of knowledge over many centuries.Eternal Letters includes beautiful examples illustrating some of the calligraphic stylesused in Qur’an manuscripts across the Islamic world, from the first century of Islam tothe modern period. Undoubtedly highlights of the collection include folios from someof the earliest Qur’ans ever written; rare examples of Qur’anic calligraphy from IslamicSpain; a selection of early Qur’ans in cursive script from Central Asia and importantmanuscripts from the Mamluk, Safavid and Ottoman empires.Six chapters, arranged chronologically, follow the evolution of Islamic calligraphyfrom its infancy to the present day. Each chapter is accompanied by an introductionpresenting the developments in style, technique and the cultural and historicalbackdrop against which this evolution occurred. Chapter 1 begins with examples of‘Hijazi’ and Kufic scripts on parchment from the first centuries of Islam. Chapter 2explores new styles in Qur’anic calligraphy, the legacy of legendary scribes and someof the earliest Qur’ans on paper. Chapter 3 illustrates the artistic links between theIranian world and the Eastern Mediterranean after the Mongol invasions. In Chapter4 attention is turned to North Africa and Al-Andalus, including some of the earliestknown Qur’ans from Valencia. Chapter 5 discusses the Timurid influence on theimperial courtly styles of India, Iran and Turkey in the early modern period. Finally,Chapter 6 focuses on the Ottoman tradition of calligraphy, which forms the historiccore of the Abdul Rahman Al Owais Collection.