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Manuscript/Mixed Material Bayts (verses) of poetry

About this Item

Title

  • Bayts (verses) of poetry

Created / Published

  • 19th century

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Iran
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Nasta'liq in khatt-i nakhani
  • -  Poetry

Notes

  • -  An unique example of Nasta'liq in khatt-i nakhuni, in which either a nail or a metal stylus is used to create topographical impressions on a monochromatic. 19th Cent. Iran.
  • -  A friend has placed a rope around my neck, / He drags me anywhere he wants.
  • -  Bayt (lines 2 and 4):
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 12 (w) x 19.5 (h) cm
  • -  I had no choice in my travel: / Sometimes (He) builds my home as the Ka'ba, sometimes as a monastery.
  • -  Ikhtiyari dar safar nabud mara / Manzalam gah Ka'ba sazad gah dayr
  • -  Rashta'i dar gardanam afkanda dust / Mikashad har ja ka khatir khwahu-st
  • -  Tak Bayts (lines 1 and 3):
  • -  This calligraphic fragment is unique in the collections of the Library of Congress, as it uses no ink at all. Instead, the text is executed in a style known as "fingernail calligraphy" (khatt-i nakhani), in which either a nail or a metal stylus is used to create topographical impressions on a monochromatic (usually white) sheet of paper. Although not very much is known about this inkless calligraphic practice, a number of signed and dated specimens held in international collections (the New York Public Library, the Bern Historical Museum in Switzerland, the Gulistan Palace in Tehran) prove that khatt-i nakhani thrived during the 19th century in Persia (Iran). At least three albums (Gulistan mss. 1568-70) were made by the calligrapher 'Ali Akbar Darvish 1266-7/1849-51 for the Qajar ruler Nasir al-Din Shah (r. 1848-96), while even the daughter of the ruler Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1797-1834), Fakhr-i Jahan, was a master of the technique, herself having created an album of ten "fingernail" paintings and calligraphies (Gulistan ms. 1574). Possibly linked to the rise of lithography and the printing press, this Qajar practice discards the traditional tools of the reed pen and ink in favor of a more abstract and experimental approach towards calligraphy.
  • -  This particular example of khatt-i nakhani in nasta'liq script includes one bayt (lines 2 and 4) of poetry unrelated to two single verses or tak bayts (lines 1 and 3). Although difficult to decipher, the verses describe human vagabondage:
  • -  Script: nasta'liq in khatt-i nakhani
  • -  1-85-154.63

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 18.4 (w) x 28.9 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714608

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:

Bayts Verses of Poetry. 19th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714608/.

APA citation style:

Bayts Verses of Poetry. 19th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714608/.

MLA citation style:

Bayts Verses of Poetry. 19th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714608/>.