Title: Hilyah, Combined with magic Squares
Date: 19th century
Location: Iran
Materials: ink, gold and opaque watercolour on thin paper
Dimensions: 61.5 x 50.3cm
Accession Number: CAL 302
Other Notes:
The text of the hilyah, which occupies the lower half of the central rectangle, lists 15 characteristics (shama’il) of the Prophet, each with a Persian translation. The terms used differ from those of the traditional text attributed to ‘Ali, being taken instead from al-Qalqashandi’s Subh al-A‘sha.
Qur’anic verses, short surahs and the Names of God are arranged in magic squares and roundels, occasionally with numeric values. The ‘Throne Verse’ from the surah al-Baqarah (II, verse 255) and the ‘Light Verse’ from the surah al-Nur (XXIV, verse 35) are arranged in cartouches in the borders.
Script:
written in riqa‘, naskh and nasta‘liq scripts
Bibliography:
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.39, pp.67–8.
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