thuluth script

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Thuluth in words

-Thuluth script was first formulated in the 7th century during the Umayyad caliphate, but it did not develop fully until the late 9th century. The name means 'a third' - perhaps because of the proportion of straight lines to curves, or perhaps because the script was a third the size of another popular contemporary script. Though rarely used for writing the Holy Qur'an, Thuluth has enjoyed enormous popularity as an ornamental script for calligraphic inscriptions, titles, headings, and colophons. It is still the most important of all the ornamental scripts.

-Thuluth script was first formulated in the 7th century during the Umayyad caliphate, but it did not develop fully until the late 9th century. The name means 'a third' -- perhaps because of the proportion of straight lines to curves, or perhaps because the script was a third the size of another popular contemporary script. Though rarely used for writing the Holy Qur'an, Thuluth has enjoyed enormous popularity as an ornamental script for calligraphic inscriptions, titles, headings, and colophons. It is still the most important of all the ornamental scripts.

-Thuluth script is characterized by curved letters written with barbed heads. The letters are linked and sometimes intersecting, thus engendering a cursive flow of ample and often complex proportions. Thuluth is known for its elaborate graphics and remarkable plasticity. The Arabic language is inseparably linked with the religion of Islam. The holy book of Islam, the Qur'an, played a central role in the development and evolution of Arabic script, and by extension, calligraphy. Today, calligraphy has become the most revered art form in the Islamic world because it links the literary heritage of the Arabic language with the religion of Islam. The result is an artistic tradition of extraordinary beauty, richness and power.

-Calligraphy is an extremely demanding activity, and most of the great Muslim masters devoted their lives to perfecting their art. Mastery of calligraphy requires not only the discipline of developing technical skill, but also the engagement of the calligrapher's moral force and personality.

-"In Islamic sources the art of calligraphy is defined as "spiritual pattern formed by worldly tools." True to this definition, the art of calligraphy created with a reed pen and soot ink has continued its development through the centuries. In the system of Islamic calligraphy most letters change in form according to whether they are at the beginning, middle or end of the word. The fact that each letter can be written in many different forms created a wealth of variety and made it possible to develop endless patterns in writing.

-For Islamic calligraphy, pens made from the reeds growing in swamps on river banks and lakes are used. The raw reeds, after having been cut, mature in manure so that they lose their dampness and become hard. When dry, the reeds take on a brown or black color, according to which kind of reed they are. The tips of these reeds are cut and sharpened with a knife on a bone or ivory pen rest called a makta, a 2-3 cm in width and 10-20 cm in length. Then they are ready for use. However, for fine writing such as naskhi and for long texts like the Qur’an, the hard, black thin branches of a tree that grows in Java are used most often. The Java pen is made of the branches of this tropical tree because these are stronger and the points do not wear out easily.

-The kargi-pen (pike-pen) made of hard bamboo reeds is used for writing broader and larger letters. For very large latters when even the kargi-pen is insufficient, pens made of wood, cut in size according to wish and called tree or wood pens, have been produced. The shapes of pens change in accordance with the different styles of calligraphy. For example, the ta’liq pen has a more curved point than the thuluth pen. The naskhi pen is less curved and the riqa pen is almost straight. The pens are sometimes kepts in long boxes called divit (pen-cases) with ink-wells on their sides, sometimes in cylinder or trunk-shaped boxes called kalemdan. The cylinder-shaped kalemdan is also known as kubar.

-Calligraphers have written their works using soot ink. In addition to this black ink, specially prepared gold and colored inks have also been used. There is also a special tool with strung threads called a mistar, which is used to ensure that the letters in the lines are straight."

-This kind of calligraphy is known as the "mother" and origin of all calligraphy. All calligraphers have to master this kind of handwriting, which is the most difficult, followed by the Naskh, which means "copying," as the Qur'an was copied in that script, and then the Farsi or Persian script. The naming of the Thuluth script goes back to the standard Tumar pen, which is the biggest pen and has a width of 24 horsehairs. The Thuluth pen was a third of this standard pen and made of eight hairs. There were half (12 hairs) and two-thirds (16 hairs) pens as well. This idea goes back to the calligrapher and minister Ibn Muqla, who set the rules of the Thuluth script.

-The Thuluth script is used to write on the walls of mosques, minbars (pulpits), domes, facades, museums, as well as newspaper headlines and books. This script was used in the openings of the surahs of the Qur'an and in epigrams. Thuluth script is also known for the tendency to make artistic forms (tashkil) with it.in calligraphy, medieval Islamic style of handwritten alphabet. Thuluth (Arabic: "one-third") is written on the principle that one-third of each letter slopes. It is a large and elegant, cursive script, used in medieval times on mosque decorations. It took on some of the functions of the early Kufic script; it was used to write surah (or sura; Qur'anic chapter) headings, religious…

-The Thuluth is one of the earliest and most adorable scripts. It is written with a pen, the nib of which measures one-third as wide as the nib of the Tumar pen, hence the name. Thuluth is rich, majestic, and imposing. It is considered the most difficult to master, and therefore, can serve as the best criteria in reflecting the artistic ability or a well-rounded calligrapher.

-The structure of this script, and the way it is laid out offer higher plastic qualities and better aesthetic treatments. It is no wonder that this script has been called "The mother of all scripts". It has been known for centuries that if a calligrapher wants to prove his competence, he would have to be able to write an excellent Thuluth.

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