Index Magazine

Art Talk: A Persian Calligraphic Album

November 10, 2020
Index Magazine

Art Talk: A Persian Calligraphic Album

Three images show Persian calligraphy. On the left is calligraphy on paper, framed in light blue, red, and gold. On the right is calligraphy on paper, framed in red, orange, and green. The center image, overlapping slightly with the other two, shows a detail of calligraphy.
An illuminated folio with calligraphy (details), Persian, Qajar period, 1854. Ink, colors, and gold on paper. Loan from A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, 18.2015.

Persian albums contain specimens of calligraphy in various scripts, normally compiled from different sources and several artists, and mounted on decorated margins. In this talk, Shiva Mihan explores the artistic and aesthetic features of an exquisite Persian album from our Islamic art collection that contains decorated folios of calligraphy, penned by the most skilled hands.

This video is part of our Art Talk series, in which our team of curators, conservators, fellows, and graduate students share short, informal videos that offer an up-close look at works from our collections.  

Speaker:
Shiva Mihan, Schroeder Curatorial Fellow of Islamic Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art

Work Explored:
An illuminated folio with calligraphy, Persian, Qajar period, 1854. Ink, colors, and gold on paper. Loan from A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, 18.2015.

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