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Manuscript/Mixed Material Invocation of 'Ali

About this Item

Title

  • Invocation of 'Ali

Names

  • Ahmad al-Husayni

Created / Published

  • 16th century (?)

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Iran
  • -  India
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Nasta'liq

Notes

  • -  An Shi'i invocation (du'a) to 'Ali, in Arabic with Persian verses in the boarder, written in black Nasta'liq script and atttributed to the calligrapher's Ahmad al-Husayni?
  • -  Although the original, main text panel executed in large nasta'liq script may have been executed during the Safavid period (16th century), the surrounding border and the calligrapher's signature may have been added later (18th-19th centuries). Such procedures of alteration show how some calligraphies experienced a "second life" when combined into albums or passed down through the hands of another calligrapher.
  • -  Call upon 'Ali who causes marvels to appear / You will find him to help (you) in adversity / All anguish and sorrow will vanish / Through your guardianship, oh 'Ali, oh 'Ali, oh 'Ali
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 21 (w) x 32 (h) cm
  • -  In the lower right corner of this main text panel appears the calligrapher's signature: "written by (katabahu) the poor (al-mudhnib) Ahmad al-Husayni." The triangular area which contains the signature is rather suspicious: the paper does not match the main text panel and this section appears to have been cut out and pasted onto the fragment. It is possible that the otherwise unknown calligrapher Ahmad al-Husayni may have removed the original calligrapher's signature and replaced it with his own.
  • -  Nad-i 'Aliyan mazhar al-'aja'ib / Tajiduhu 'awnayn laka fi al-nawa'ib / Kull hammun wa ghammun sayanjali / Bi-walayatika, ya 'Ali, ya 'Ali, ya 'Ali
  • -  The main text panel is framed by a pink border decorated with gold vine motifs and a large blue frame decorated with gold leafs and panels of Persian verses. Each rectangular panel of text has been individually cut out and pasted into the appropriate panels in the blue border. The whole composition is contained on a larger sheet of pink paper painted with gold flowers and backed with cardboard.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment includes an invocation (du'a) to 'Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, in the central text panel. Written in black nasta'liq script on a beige paper decorated with arabesque motifs painted in gold, the Shi'i du'a reads:
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-88-154.154

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 27.5 (w) x 39 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714672

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Ahmad Al-Husayni. Invocation of 'Ali. 16th Century ?. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714672/.

APA citation style:

Ahmad Al-Husayni. Invocation of 'Ali. 16th Century ?. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714672/.

MLA citation style:

Ahmad Al-Husayni. Invocation of 'Ali. 16th Century ?. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714672/>.