written in thulth script

14.3 x 11.5cm

The text of the basmalah (‘In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful’) is made to fit inside the natural shape of the leaf. The vertical strokes of the letters follow the line of the stem of the leaf, a vital element in determining the composition of an inscription.

N.F. Safwat, The Art of the Pen. Calligraphy of the 14th to 20th Centuries, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume V, London 1996, cat.148, pp.208–9.