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IN THE FIRST CENTURY OF ISLAM, THE ART OF CALLIGRAPHY WAS BORN, AND WITH IT THE craft of the calligrapher. It was the duty of the calligrapher to record the […]

Calligraphy reached a high degree of perfection in the Islamic world, where representational art was spurned and Arabic script offered rich possibilities for creative fantasy Oral tradition was paramount among [...]

The craft of Islamic calligraphy began in the 7th century Ottoman Empire, and nearly disappeared in the 20th century when Turkey stopped using the Arabic alphabet. Now, thanks to collector Sakip Sabanci, who has one of the most comprehensive collection of Islamic calligraphy in the world, the works of the masters are travelling in an exhibit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Calligraphy and typography in Europe ALL typefaces, even the most modern digitized characters designed with the help of a computer, are based on forms of writing. This link between written [...]

The composite nature of Japanese writing is an aid to flexibility and effectiveness Although scholars still disagree about the origins of the Japanese language, the origins of its notation system [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT'S CHANGED? Today's ink slab (gray rectangle in center foreground) has, most always, a simple case to protect it. Paper is now commonly used throughout the world. But […]

JUST as the introduction of the printing press in Europe in the late 15th century led many scribes of the time into a state of unemployed despair, so the more [...]