Moshaf Noor

Description

Nouredin  Mohammad

Seyyed Mohammad Ehsaee

Given the similar eopies of the Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour, which are kept in the form of single pages in private collections or in museums around the world, and given the studies of the style of decoration and calligraphy in that period, one can with certainty attribute this text to the Shiraz School. Throughout the ninth and tenth hijri centuries, the city of Shiraz was a main center for the production of manuseripts. Some of the texts produced in Shiraz easily compete in terms of quality and style with the works produced in Tabriz and Qazvin. Most of the Korans produced in Shiraz were ordered by princes or other courtiers. (The writings or seals of those who ordered the texts on the back cover of some of the volumes are testimony to this claim.)

There were two important developments in the calligraphy of the Koran in the ninth and tenth hijri centuries. The first development was the emrgence of the Naskh style of seript, as the majar seript for inseribing the Koran. The second development was the division of each page into two separate spaces every one of which was written in a different style of seript. This division was made with the use of a blet consisting of golden or other colorful lines. This would create a separate tablet in each section. Usually in the larger tablets the text would be written in the Naskh seript with single lines in the Tholth style.

The history of this method of inseribing the holy book went back to the sixth hijri century, but it found broad-based popularity only in the ninth hijri century. In the tenth century, such page decoration was used in the reproductions of the highly valuable texts of the holy Koran.

As an innouative artist, Noureddin Mohammad, the inseriber of the Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour, went against his received tradition of calligraphy and page decoration to bravely use the abouve-mentioned method in producing a highly valuable text of the holy Koran written entirely in the Mohaqqaq style of seript. Given the social and political conditions of the tenth hijri century, using such method of calligraphy in reproducing the text of the Koran went for beyond his own time.

Also in the tenth century, the tranian inseribers added one or two texts to the Koranic manuseripts. One of these appendices was called the Frayer of Khatm, which reflected one’s gratitude for the apportunity to complete the recitation of the holy Koran. The other appendix was called Falnameh. It was a poetic treatise on the value of the Arabic letters in foretelling the future.

At the end of the Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour, there was an excellent calligraphy in the Nastaliq style and with fine and sophisticated decorations, where poetical texts were fitted in a complicated assortment of tablets. The usage of twelve lines, as well as the texts of the prayer for the completion of the Koran and the Falnameh, is an indication of the work of the Shiite artists who emerged in Tran in the Safaavid period. The new developments in the production of the decorated texts of the holy Koran in the tenth hijri century, in effect, established the influence of the franian art and culture on the charaeteristies of the Koranic texts produced in the following centuries in other Islamic territories, from the Mongol Empire in India to the Ottaman Empire.

The rise of the Safavid Empire in Fran was instrumental, in turn, in the continuation of the Timurid and Turkman artistic traditions in the Ottoman and Endian empires. This was the case because many franian artists migrated to these lands for religious, political and economic reasonts. The production of Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour in this tumultuous period was an indication of an innovative view, which emerged like smithereens following the tradition of writing Koranic texts in the sixth and seventh hijri centuries. On the other hand, this is a unique effort, because Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour, unlike other collections, has continued to exist in its entirety to this very day. It is a glorious piece of the Shiite art in tran.

 

Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour

Mahmoud Farshchian

In the review of the trend of decoration of the word of god in the history of fran and other Islamic lands, one finds that upholding and spreading the word of god have indeed been the main motivation in producing these texts. Thus according to material and spiritual indications, all invalued in this endeauor, from those commissioning that work to the calligraphers and decorators carrying out the order, did their best in pursuit of the lofty goal of upholding and propagating the word of god. But at times and with regard to certain eases, we come across certain points which add incredibly to the glory and loftiness of the holy texts produced. Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour is one such case whereby the kingly size, the hight quality paper, the unconuentional calligraphy, and the sophisticated decoration have ereated a combination with such a unique attraction, which truly shines.

The inseribing of th holy Koran in a course of 600 years has passed through warious stages. In this context, however, five types of seript: Kufi, Mohaqqaq, Kayhan, Tholth and Naskh have been used more oftern by the famous calligraphers. Beside glory and majesty, these five styles of script underpin the stages in which the recitation of the holy text was gradually made easier and easier. With its beauty and exuberance, the usage of the Kufi seript in the early Koranic texts gave way to the triple seripts: Mohaqqaq, Kayhan and Tholth, which are fine and subtle as well as beautiful and attractive, while giving the calligrapher a more open hand to create new incredible combinations. Thus such seripts have found their place most befittingly on the walls of mosques and other monuments.

These three latter styles of seript were then fallowed  by the Naskh seript, with its calm and penetrating beauty, whose uniformity and harmony ereated proper spaces for the lines of the text, thus perfecting the previous styles of seript. Nonetheless, in the following centuries, some seribes made artistic references to the earlier seripts in the headings of the werses and even in the main text. Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour was one such artistic reference, which went far beyond its time.

Along with the trends of calligraphy, decorative images developed  from simple floral representations with limited golden and azure colors to more sophisticated geometrieal images consisting of the interweaving decorative styles, known as Eslimi and Khata’I, thus making possible the creation of thousands of new images, such as the arnamental element of Toranj, which were used in the headings, tablets and margins. Schools and methods thus developed each in harmony with a specific style of calligraphy. This collection was the product of nine centuries of the arts of calligraphy and book decoration in tran, which were perfected thanks to an extremely meticulous creativity. The climax of this trend was manifested in Noureddin Mohammad’s Mos’haf-e Sharif-e Nour, which was signed by the inscriber at the end of the text in a colorful tablet. Based on the style of writing, the type of paper used, and the style of decoration, the inseriber could have been Noureddin Mohammad Esfahani, who created a number of ualuable works of calligraphy in the time span of 960-900 lunar hijri years.

Anote on the back of the first page of the volume dated 1026 lunar hijri year indicates that this unique treasure had been purchased by a ruler to be offered as a present to his offspring. Based on the evaluation of the appendix known as the Falnameh, which was written in the Nastaliq style of calligraphy, the text was written with complete mastery. Noureddin Mohammad was indeed a rarity in his time in terms of his mastery of the arts of calligraphy and book decoration.

The most significant characteristic of this volume was indeed the usage of the Mohaqqaq seript, the high level of the literacy of the seribe and his mastery of the art of calligraphy, which is evident in the extremely low number of mistakes in the writing of the text. Since the late Fllkhanid period the Mohaqqaq style of seript was rarely used, and the usage of this style by Noureddin Mohammad in this volume was an indication that this work was exceptionally commissioned with the intention to acquire a unique volume. The book begins with the opening prager of the holy Koran in between two symmetric pages connected with two sophisticated tablets. The Fatehah werse is also written in two opposite pages in the Mohaqqaq seript in an extremely beautiful white color. The opening of the Baqarah werse is decorated in sophisticated style. At the end of the Koranic text, there is a poetic Falnameh in the Nstaliq style of calligraphy and in white color. It indicates that both the calligrapher and the commissioner of the work were of Shiite persuasion.

The ink used in writing the Karanic text is of a brownish black color, which has retained its freshness despite the old age of the text. An indication of the high value of old texts is the usage of two types of paper for the main text, an the one hand, and the margins, on the other. This combination provides the text with a contrast of color, which nonetheless produces a peculiar harmony in each page. Moreover, every other line of writing in each page is colored by flral dyes. The variety of the background colors of the lines produces, in turn, a soft wariation of shades in each page. This, in turn, gives a peculiar depth to the text.

While abiding by the strict rules of writing, the calligrapher has used certain combinations in order to prouide the reader with uisual pleasure. The spaces between the lines are decorated with a combination of golden and green colors. The margins of the main text have also been decorated with a sophisticated combination of golden, green, black, green, red and blue colors. One may suggest that Noureddin Mohammad, in fact, reuived the Mohaqqaq style of scrpt in writing this entire book in that style at a time that this style was used only in writing limited pieces.

The decorations of this work generally reflect the influence of the Khorasan School. But these decorations also contain elements of the Herat School as well as the spirit of the Timurid period. The general design of the work and the taste of colors indicate that the decorater had a general understanding of the past schools of these schools in his work. The usage of a sophisticated combination of raw and baked golden and blue colors in this book is a dear reflection of the references of the decorator to past traditions. Eight particular pages with margins in the beginning and the end, a decorated heading, some 114  colorful tablets following the Herat School, hundreds of golden and azure ornamental loops at the margins of the main text, and a warety of floral images have combined to create a glorious text of the holy Koran with penetrating uisual attraction. Of peculiar significance in the decoration of the pages of this Koranic text is the usage of the black color at the margins of the ornamental loops and headings, which creates a peculiar contrast.

The makeup of the leather cover of the book follows precisely the Herat School. The golden decoration of the black leather couer on the outside along with red leather on the inside, which was decorated with an ornamental loop in the middle and floral images at the margins are manifestations of the climax of book- cover madking of the Timurid period in Herat.

To sum up, one should note that the art of calligraphy, particularly the usage of the Mohaqqaq style of seript, has made possible the creation of beautiful and peculiar combinations. This, in conjunetion with the use of thick paper of beige color with glorious decorations of golden color, along with the leather cover edged with golden images, has created a highly valuable and unique valume. Every page of this baluable is nowadays a stunning masterpiece in its own right, which, put together, creates something of a shining piece of jewelry.