practice makes perfect: the art of exercises 107

MARYAM EKHTIAR

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: THE ART OF CALLIGRAPHY EXERCISES (SIY@H MASHQ) IN IRAN

Calligraphy is concealed in the teaching method of the letters, so that it be clear, clean, and attractive. When master; its essence is in its frequent repetition, and it your writing has made progress, seat yourself in a corner exists to serve .1 and do not idle about; find some small manuscript of good style and hold it before your eyes. In the same These words by {Ali b. Abi Talib, traditionally regarded format, ruling, and kind of writing, prepare yourself to as the first master calligrapher of Islam, lie at the heart copy it. After that, write several letters; do not indulge in of siy¸h mashq, or calligraphic exercise pages. Siy¸h egotism. Try not to be careless with regard to your copy, mashq pages have yielded some of the most visually not even a little bit. One must give full attention to the stunning examples of later . Their copy, completing one line [of it] after another.3 bold forms and harmonious compositions are truly captivating. Yet this art form and its historical develop- Practice allowed the calligrapher to determine the size ment have received little attention from scholars and of the script to be used, to try out the , to judge art historians. Thus, in this study, I focus exclusively on whether or not the was of the correct consistency, and to map out the overall visual impact of the com- the development of siy¸h mashq in Iran: its visual and position. It also enabled him to refine the shapes of aesthetic characteristics, its role in the transmission of the letters and overcome any unsteadiness or stiffness skills from master calligraphers to their pupils, and in the hand. This was achieved by the repetition of its spiritual dimensions as presented in the primary individual letters or groups of letters on different areas sources of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. of the page. In order to use all available space on the I also examine the evolution of siy¸h mashq into an sheet when practicing, the calligrapher often rotated independent art form and its subsequent flowering the page several times (figs. 3 and 4). The typical in the nineteenth century, as well as its relevance in result was a heavily worked, dark sheet with little white modern and contemporary Iranian art. ground showing through. The process is analogous to Siy¸h mashq, literally “black writing,” refers to the a painter executing sketches before starting on the calligraphic preparatory practice sheets executed by 2 final version of a painting. Thus, according to master traditional calligraphers and scribes (fig. 1). An inte- calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya, “Close observation gral part of the system through which calligraphers of mashq can, at times, tell us more about the art of moved from apprenticeship to master status, the copy- calligraphy than a formal, highly finished piece.”4 ing and repeating of individual letters or combinations These practice sheets were not confined to the of letters were intended to strengthen the hand and Persianate realm, but are also found in the Western instill the concentration and discipline necessary to Islamic world and Ottoman Turkey. In they are become a master calligrapher (fig. 2). called musawwada (blackened), while in Turkish they The late-fifteenth-century calligrapher Sultan {Ali are referred to as karalama, a verbal noun from the Mashhadi aptly describes the objectives of and pro- Turkish kara (black). Furthermore, siy¸h mashq were cesses involved in calligraphic practice: not limited to one particular script but are found in Whatever writing you wish to copy (naql), try not to a wide array of them. In Iran, those in the nasta{lºq hammer the iron when it is cold. Be very patient over (“hanging”) and shikasta (“broken”) scripts are found each letter and not just cast a glance and proceed care- in greater numbers, due in part to the popularity of lessly. Look at the “strength and weakness” of the letters, these two scripts at the time siy¸h mashq emerged as and put before your eyes the shape (tarkºb). Watch their an art form, as well as to their distinct visual attributes, “ascent” and “descent” rather than being distracted by which perfectly suited the compositional requirements this or that. Be aware of the flourish [?] (shamr) of the of siy¸h mashq. Such attributes included the unique 108 maryam ekhtiar

Fig. 1. The calligrapher’s implements: , ink, inkwell, and a page of mashq. (After M. Uqur Derman, Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakæp Sabancæ Collection, Istanbul [New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998], fig. 7)

Fig. 2. Page of mashq by Muhammad Riza Kalhur. 11.4 x 19.1 cm. Private collection, Tehran.