Calligraphic Composition in the Shape of a Bird
1804
Description
In this tripartite calligraphic composition, the panels on the right and on the left consist of Qur'anic inscriptions, while in the center there is an image of a bird perched on a flowering branch, also composed from verses of the Qur'an. A decorative border, with flowering scrolls painted on a blue background, divides and frames the panels. The texts at the corners and on the side panels are surrounded by a cloud form in reserve, with gold or red hatching pattern in the background. The central panel is a calligram. Verses from the Qur'an are here arranged to form the bird and flowering branch, creating tension between the text and the image. The verses, including sura 57 (al-Hadid), sura 112 (al-Ikhlas) and sura 108 (al-Kauthar), are copied in naskhi script. The composition is dated H. 1219/1804 and signed in three places by the calligrapher Abd al-Sattar.
Dimensions
26.7 x 38.7 cm (10 1/2 x 15 1/4 in.)
Provenance
[Adrienne Minassian, New York, 30 October 1973], sold; to Edwin Binney, 3rd, California, (1973-1986), bequest; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012. NOTE: Stored at the San Diego Museum of Art from some time before 1986 until 1991, then at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 1991-2011.
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