Calligraphy is perhaps at its most brilliant in the Islamic world. Islamic calligraphy took its inspiration from Muslim belief in the divine origin of Arabic writing, the medium through which the Qu’àranic revelation to the Prophet Muhammad was recorded. The sanctity of Arabic writing has been accepted among Arabs and non-Arabs alike, and its use in sacred and official texts gave rise to a wonderful profusion of scripts, and a tradition that has flourished for over a thousand years in manuscript decoration, architecture, ceramics and painting.

• a comprehensive and fascinating survey of the subject from its earliest origins to the present day.
• explains with the help of numerous drawings the geometrical and ornamental principles of calligraphy, and examines the interdependence of script and page decoration.
• gives an overview of the many complex variations of this most graphic form of writing
• traces the evolution of Islamic calligraphy right up to its current expression in the painting of artists such as Shakir Hassan.
• contains outstanding examples of scripts – kufic, thuluth, naskhi and maghribi among others –†in photographs which reproduce in stunning detail a range of manuscript pages, paintings and other works of art to illustrate the supreme craftsmanship of Islamic calligraphy.

The Splendour of Islamic Calligraphy, was widely acclaimed on its first publication as the most lavish and sumptuous study of its kind.

ISBN 0500282943