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  • Page Numbers Added by Album Editor or Collector

    Page Numbers Added by Album Editor or Collector

  • Library Seal

    Library Seal

  • Jadval

    Jadval

    Jadval or “border” refers to the thin lines that surround the four sides of the text and separate it from the margins.  These lines come in different colors and are drawn by metal instruments known as qalam-e jadval (pens used for drawing borders).  Today, a European version of these pens, known as Terling, is used.  The thickness of the lines could be adjusted by turning a screw on the handle of the qalam-e jadval.

  • Tasmeh Andāzi

    Tasmeh Andāzi

    The thin decorative border that, similar to jadval, separates the text from the margins is called tasmeh.  Tasmeh Andāzi is the act of creating this border, which generally repeats the same decorative pattern.

  • Decorative Notations

    Decorative Notations

    All of these notations are strictly decorative and serve no orthographic function.  Interestingly, some of them are smaller versions of the letters near which they are written.

  • Errors

    Errors

  • Connecting Letters

    Connecting Letters

    The connecting of letters is a feature of the Riqā‘ and Tuqi‘ scripts, but it is also used with the Thuluth script.

  • Ersāl

    Ersāl

    The act of writing a letter quickly by flicking up the pen at the end of the letter, so that its end appears as you see here.  It is used with letters such as د، ر، و

The alphabet in Thuluth script, 1593 CE.  The Library of the Golestān Palace.

Text and Margins

The relationship between the text and margin is noteworthy when the paper used for the text and the paper used for the margin are different.

Margins are generally distinguished from the text with thin lines, called borders or jadval.  Depending on the fineness of the manuscript or book, it could have multiple margins of varying colors.  In fine manuscripts and albums, the paper for the text and the margin are usually of a differing type and color.  Sometimes, the text of a book would be written on two pieces of thin paper that were glued together so that there would not be a shadow from the text on the other side of the page.  For this reason, the paper used for the margin of the page would often be twice as thick as the paper used for the text.  When a single page was used to write on both sides, attention would be paid to choosing a paper with similar thickness with the text in order to avoid wrinkles.  

This is usually done when the margin is damaged.  A type of paper would be selected for the margin similar in color and thickness to the paper used for the text.  This way, the book would close flat, and there would not be wrinkles that would allow air to sieve through the pages.

This method of attaching a new margin would have been done with utmost care so that the paper of the text and of the margin were edge to edge and did not overlap.  Usually, the touching edges of the papers were then hidden from view with colored borders.  Because of the considerable degree of expertise and effort required to create these kinds of pages, this technique is found only in the finest of manuscripts or albums.

 

Script: Thuluth

Thuluth is one of the six major styles of calligraphy that was derived from Kufic and is usually used in inscriptions.