A Persian piece in "gulzar" calligraphy from the later 1800s

Source: http://www.islamicart.com/main/calligraphy/catalog/index.htm
(downloaded April 2000)

"Iran, second half of the 19th century. Ink, gouache and varnish on cardboard. 12 1/2 x 18 1/4 in. Private collection. Falk (1985), 179, p. 192.

The beauty of the Arabic alphabet is entirely intrinsic. It can be appreciated for its formal and rhythmic qualities alone and needs no embellishment or decoration. But both Iranian and Ottoman tastes, particularly in the 19th century, put the Arabic alphabet through some strange contortions. Scripts were covered with representations of people, animals and even tiny scenes.

This script is called Gulzar, meaning "full of flowers." A good example can be seen here. It is part of a verse by the Persian poet Hafiz and says:

"We came this way searching for glory and power."

The script is decorated with animals, people and landscape in a griasille technique on a plain background. In his original verse, however, Hafiz wrote the opposite: "We did not come..."

The origins of Gulzar script are perhaps to be found in a technique known from the 16th century at least, whereby phrase such as the basmalah was filled with minutely written Qur'anic verses. Gulzar in the form shown here seems to have been practiced since the 17th century. There is a piece in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (Ms 11A:3) bearing the name of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan."