Natural Leaf with Calligraphy

Natural Leaf with Calligraphy

Thuluth Script

Horse Chestnut Leaf – 20. x 8.9 cm.
9th century

TURKEY

The gilded inscription within the fine net of a horse chestnut leaf says, “The best people are those who do good for other people,” and reads from bottom to top. This painstaking art form preserved important cultural sayings for the Sufi sect. The technique, which involved stenciling the text and covering it with wax before laying the leaf on top, soaked in chemicals that ate away nearly everything but the vein structure, to reveal the writing. The writing was further outlined with piercing to remove still more of the leaf surface. The fineness of the leaf’s filigree enhances the bold lines of the calligraphy, enhancing the stature of the words both as marks and as message.

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