Inscribed stories of past

In today’s age of technological slavery, writing has shifted its course from paper to assembled screen of computers. To bring back the old times, National Museum hosted an exhibition on aesthetics of calligraphy and craftsmanship on Friday. Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Mahesh Sharma inaugurated the two-month exhibition of Islamic-style writing on objects of daily use.

Art of Calligraphy and beyond: Arabic – Persian inscription on decorative <g data-gr-id="32">arts</g> objects’ focuses on tastefully done inscription on metal-ware, wood, textile and semi-precious stones from the past five centuries.

“I named the exhibition Art of Calligraphy and Beyond to clear the common misconception that people share about calligraphy being limited to text, therefore we have displayed items with calligraphy done on variety of materials like metal, wood, textile, glass, leather and bone which were crafted for daily, ceremonial and religious uses,” said Anamika Pathak, curator at National Museum.

Twenty out of the 56 artefacts on display engrave the name of the calligrapher, date of manufacturing and name of the patron. 

“Their value gets enhanced when the name of the patron or calligrapher is inscribed,” pointed Zahid Ali Ansari, another curator at <g data-gr-id="27">museum</g>.

The objects have been decorated with different techniques such as <g data-gr-id="37">koftagari</g> or <g data-gr-id="39">damascening</g>, <g data-gr-id="38">bidri</g>, niello, engraving, writing, printing and embroidering on textiles. The brass-copper bowls which were used for drinking water or medicine were richly decorated with holy tenets from inside written in Arabic and Persian language. 

Exquisite brocade textiles like talismanic tunic  created by weaving, transfixing or inserting the pattern thread between the wrap are also on display.

To promote the rare art, calligraphy classes for thirty students was announced which will soon be held in the museum.