Styles of calligraphy art

Islamic calligraphy, the art of writing passages from the Glorious Quran in an artistic manner, is an unparalleled tradition. Almost all scripts can be written in calligraphy but none has as evolved a tradition as that of Arabic calligraphy which is synonymous with Islamic calligraphy. There are two reasons for that – first, the Arabic script is inherently cursive with abundance of dots, loops, dashes and diacritical marks; secondly, the Islamic prohibition on human and animal imagery ensured that calligraphy emerged as an art for. If you are looking for Islamic calligraphy art for sale,it’simportant to understand the different styles of writing the Arabic script. Here are some:

1.       Kufic: This is among the earliest fonts in which Quran was reportedly written. It originated in 7^th century, Iraq when Arabic alphabet had few or no diacritical marks. Over time, as non-Arabs became Muslim and were unfamiliar with the language of the Quran, diacritical marks were introduced. The Kufic style has horizontal strokes and round characters with tiny counters.

In the 10^th century, the font faded into disuse for writing the Quran, though it continued to be used for decorative purposes like writing on pots and plates.

2.       Naskh: This cursive font replaced Kufic as the primary style in which the Quran was transcribed. It became popular because of the ease it offered in both reading and writing. It still is in use today for transcribing the Holy Quran. It formed the basis of the modern Arabic script. Newspapers, periodicals, official decrees, private correspondenceapply this font even now.

3.       Thuluth: Thuluth, similar to Naskh, is a highly stylish fonts of writing Arabic. ‘Thuluth’ is an Arabic word, which in English means ‘one third’, that is, one-third of the letters are straight in this kind of writing. This font has a grand appearance because of the long, vertical lines and strokes, broad spacing and emphatic dots and diacritical marks. These qualities render it perfect for decorative purposes and is used a lot in wall art. The Taj Mahal in India,  for example, is decorated with Thuluth calligraphy.

4.       Nast’aliq: This regional style originated in Iran for non-religious uses like writing court scrolls. The name ta'liqin English stands for “hanging”. In this calligraphy font, the letters of the alphabet slope slightly from right to left, giving the script an overall hanging look.

DiwaniJaali: This font emerged in the 16^th century during rule of the Ottomon sultans in the Middle East. It is ahighly ornate and elaborate font – the letters are slanted, and the narrow spaces between them are densely covered with decorative dots. The DiwaniJaali font is not so easy to decipher and was therefore employed for penning secret papers of the ‘diwan’ or royal court. Nowadays, its sublime ornateness makes it suitable for Islamic calligraphy interior decoration. With this basic idea of fonts of Arabic calligraphy, it would be easy for you to make a buying decision when looking for Islamiccalligraphy art for sale.