Studying the Style of Transcribing Singular Letters Combinations (Hosn-e-tashkil) in Seyed Ali Khan Tabrizi’s Chalipa Artworks

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MA in Islamic Arts, Faculty of Handicrafts, Isfahan University of Art, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Cultural Materials Conservation, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Iran.

10.22070/negareh.2021.14349.2749

Abstract

Iran’s art, especially calligraphy, had specific place in Timurid 120-year era. Most masters in calligraphy came to Herat from Tabriz and joined Shah Ismail Safavid’s court in 1514. Nasta’liq script spread in India for the first time in Mongols era when Babur attacked this land in 1525 and he was accompanied by some calligraphers. Based on this support, large amount of Iran’s calligraphers moved to that territory and one of those calligraphers was Seyed Ali Khan Tabrizi. Javaher Raqam (alive in 1683) came to India at the end of Orang Zib’s domination (1656 -1706) and Orang Zib himself was one of his calligraphy students, so chose him as other princes’ master and teacher. This article, not only talks about the recognition of basics and principles of Nasta’liq script and studying the evolution of calligraphy from the end of Timurid era to its spreading in India and also introduction of Tabriz’s position and effective Nasta’liq calligraphers from Tabriz, but also talks about Seyed Ali Khan Tabrizi’s transcription of singular letters combinations (Hosn-e-tashkil) which is the main purpose of this research. Here are the questions: 1- How principles and proportion, which are two rules of letters combination (Hosn-e-tashkil), are observed in Seyed Ali Khan Tabrizi’s artworks? 2- How are dots (Noqte-ha) and singular letters (Mofradat) transcribed in Seyed Ali Khan Tabrizi’s artworks? The work of calligraphy is beautiful when it has value and credibility among scholars and experts in this field, which, firstly, is based on the two general rules of "Hosn-e-tashkil” and “Hosn-e-khat ", secondly, its composition and appropriateness rules are well observed. The words should be appropriate to each other and from the seat line, because seat style is a part of good-establishment and is closely related to composition, and thirdly, its context should be appropriate to the text and writing. One of the important points in the issue of Hosn-e-tashkil" and "Hosn-e-khat" is the style of transcribing. In addition to the general principles, governing the form of letters and words in calligraphy, the style of transcribing each calligrapher depends on the style of the pen and the angle of the pen with the paper, and other factors such as how the pen is held, how the artist sits and masters the paper while writing affect this issue. The angle of the artist's pen at the beginning of each word and phrase while transcribing, affects the way his pen rotates. The crucial point is that the style of writing can be strong and the weakness of the calligraphic effect, which is one of the pillars of calligraphy, is effective. Therefore, examining the artist's style of writing, in addition to showing the geometry of his script, can be an important factor in examining the originality of works and examining and recognizing changes in the artist's style during his artistic life, the possibility of comparing the artist's style with other artists that in this way, provide a review of the technical evolution of the script. Accordingly, it can be important to examine the writing style of the artists of a period, a style or a geographical area. The research method of this article is analytical- descriptive and it is a practical research. The information has been gathered based on statistics, computerized measurement and with the help of sources in libraries. It is also consisted of personal visual studying by the authors. The statistical population of this research is Chalipa artworks of Seyed Ali Khan Tabrizi Javaher Raqam. So, five Chalipa artworks of Javaher Raqam have been studied with analytical approach based on letters combinations (Hosn-e-tashkil) of singular letters by visual analysis. The method of the analyzing in this article is quantitative and it depends on statistical results which are obtained by studying all points in five selected artworks and their letters, and the results of the data in searching and studying are presented in quantitative forms. The results of this research show that, “dot” (Noqteh) in Seyed Ali Khan Tabrizi Javaher Raqam’s style is not only static, but also has stable and concentrated energy. The gradient of dots is also transcribed in their best conditions. So, this feature has considerably affected the dots’ visual charisma. The remarkable point is the angle of letters’ gradient which is different but appropriate. The presentation of weakness and the power in performance of the letters is close to each other and this point has caused more proportions in the scripts. Studying the examples of Seyed Ali Khan Tabrizi Javaher Raqam’s artworks shows that the size and dimensions of letters have good balance and the pen has impressive straight movement. This point must be mentioned that some features like transcribing (the angle of writing each letter) change a little during the artist’s life, whereas the quality of calligraphy has ups and downs during the years. 

Keywords

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Negareh Journal
Volume 18, Issue 66
July 2023
Pages 121-141

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History

  • Receive Date: 09 March 2021
  • Revise Date: 20 August 2021
  • Accept Date: 31 August 2021

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