A Handbook of Early Arabic Kufic Script: Reading, Writing, Calligraphy, Typography, Monograms - Hardcover

Mousavi Jazayeri, S M V

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 099817274X ISBN 13: 9780998172743

Publisher: Blautopf Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

A comprehensive textbook of the early Arabic Kufic script, written as a complete reference book for calligraphers, designers, and students of art history and the history of Arabic language and scripts. This beautiful and powerful script was derived from the earlier Hijazi Mashq style of Mecca and Medina, which was invented by early Muslim scribes to record the Quran. Today, the many historical manuscripts displayed in numerous museums around the world can attest to development and evolution of this remarkable and versatile script. Authored by master calligrapher, Mousavi Jazayeri, this book is the only book written in English that is solely dedicated to the study, learning and revival of the fascinating script behind the first mature Arabic calligraphic style, which was the official script of the Islamic Near East for centuries, before being replaced by the modern Naskh style. In this handbook, Mousavi Jazayeri who had discovered the lost art of cutting the qalam (pen) for early Kufic more than twenty years ago, explains with detailed, clear illustrations how to write early Kufic using a calligraphic pen and even a regular pen. He guides students patiently through the process involved in creating amazing, modern monograms. With clear, ample examples taken from the old Quranic manuscripts, art history students, font designers, and scholars of the history of the Arabic language and scripts can use this reference book to learn the key aspects of the early Kufic script as a writing system. Mr. Mousavi Jazayeri is joined by two co-authors, Perette E. Michelli, a multi-disciplinary historian of medieval and later art, and Saad D. Abulhab, a known Arabic type designer and independent scholar of the history of Arabic language and scripts. The two co-authors are members of the first international group dedicated to the study and revival of the early Kufic script, Kuficpedia, which was formed a few years ago around the historical achievements of Mr. Mousavi.

About this title

About the Authors

A master calligrapher, type designer and graphic designer, Seyed Mohammad Vahid Mousavi Jazayeri has taken a particular personal interest in the Kufic script and devoted years to independent research, visiting archaeological locations, historic buildings and cemeteries, mosques, libraries and museums to study the script through direct contact. He has developed a systematic research methodology and published his findings in several books. His professional interest in script and calligraphy stimulated his discovery of the historic method for cutting the Kufic pen, which has had a direct impact on his own work, as seen in a number of well-received exhibitions and workshops. The historical research and achievements of Mousavi Jazayeri brought together the first international group dedicated to the study and revival of the historic Kufic script: Kuficpedia.

Dr. Michelli is a multi-disciplinary historian of medieval and later art, with a particular focus on the treatment and function of inscriptions. Her understanding of the medieval deployment of classical aesthetics generated a special interest in the use of visually distinctive script styles of greater or lesser legibility, textual traditions that perpetuate mistakes and scribal errors, and inscriptions that seem to lack purpose or information, or do not apparently make sense, or that seem to include errors, flaws, or meaningless components. Her current focus of interest concerns the "benedictory" inscriptions on medieval Islamic

Saad Abulhab is a known Arabic type designer, a librarian, an IT administrator, and an independent scholar with over 30 years of service at the City University of New York, New York University, and the New York public library. He has been awarded several patents and academic research grants and had authored several books and articles in the fields of Arabic language and script history, typography, and computing.

Edition details

• Publisher: Blautopf Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 099817274X
• ISBN 13: 9780998172743
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 300