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  • Zar-āfshān

    Zar-āfshān

    The scattering of drops of gold or other colorful paint on the margins of a manuscript page or on its cover.

  • Library Seals and Dates

    Library Seals and Dates

  • 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.

  • Raqam

    Raqam

    The tradition of signing or writing one’s name at the end of a manuscript or a piece of calligraphy is very old and dates back to the first centuries of Islam.  It is more common to find the name of calligraphers than other artists or craftsmen at the end of manuscripts since they were the ones who did the writing.  There are certain phrases that have come to be customarily included in signatures or raqams; they usually point to the humility of the artists: al-ḥaqīr (the humble), al-faqīr (the impoverished), etc.

  • Two Dots Under Ye

    Two Dots Under Ye

    Sometimes, in order to achieve aesthetic equilibrium in the representation of a word or in order to fill in space, two dots are written under the letter ی, or an alef maqsorah  ( ٰ ) is written above the letter ی.  While these two dots and the alef maqsorah are significant in modern Arabic orthography, they do not carry any particular significance in Persian.

  • Sin in Nasta‘liq

    Sin in Nasta‘liq

    In the Nasta‘liq script, in order to avoid confusion between the letters sin (س) and shin (ش), three dots are written under sin (س).  Furthermore, when the sīn (س) is written without the teeth, the writing of three dots under the sin (س) helps with legibility.  By way of example, it helps us distinguish between the word جم, which means “multitude,” and جسم, which means “body.”

  • Lachaki

    Lachaki

    Triangular decorations drawn on the top and bottom, and sometimes sides, of a chalipā.

Library of Āstān-e Qods Razavi, Mashhad, No. 1607.

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.

In this piece, the thin outer borders in blue, black, and gold were likely drawn later since they overlap with the gold flecks on the surrounding page.  The addition of these borders has the effect of distracting the viewer’s eye from the seam between the text and the margin.  

 

Chalipā

This is a form of writing in which the lettering is not horizontal but written at a 45 degree angle.  It is usually used for writing a couplet or a few verses of poetry in the Nasta‘liq script.

Symmetry

Symmetry is a common aspect of Islamicate arts, but at times slight varieties are embedded in seemingly symmetrical pieces, either for the sake of variety itself or because differing sizes of letters and words, which are out of the control of the artist, would disrupt the symmetry of the page.  As such, despite their symmetrical appearance, there is rarely perfect symmetry in these works.