Everything you need to know about the beauty and history of Persian calligraphy

"Illuminated Manuscript, Album of Indian miniatures and Persian calligraphy, Walters Art Museum Ms. W.669, fol.3b" by Walters Art Museum Illuminated Manuscripts is licensed under CC0 1.0

If you are looking for a special gift for someone that is filled with cultural depth of meaning, you should consider Persian calligraphy. From wall art with Persian calligraphy to other pieces of decor around the home that boast Persian style and calligraphy, there are many different ways that you can go about purchasing a gift of this nature for someone you care about. With that in mind, below, we are going to reveal everything you need to know about Persian calligraphy, including taking a look at the history of this incredible and beautiful style of art.

You can trace the evolution of the Persian script back to around 500 to 600 BC when inscriptions were made on monuments that the Achaemenid kings built. Diagonal, vertical, and horizontal nail-shaped letters made up the script, which was called the Script of Nails or Khat-e-Mikhi. A number of centuries after this, other scripts came about, like Avestaee and Pahlavits. These scripts incorporated the practice of using a feather pen to write on animal skin pages. It is certainly interesting to see that these scripts had much in common with Naskh and Sols, which were Arabic scripts that we invented a number of centuries later. 

After the 7th century and the spread of Islam, the Arabic alphabet was adapted by the Persians to the Farsi language. The modern Farsi alphabet involved an extra four characters being added to the Arabic alphabet, which had 28 characters. There were six major calligraphy styles that were present and heavily researched into during the 10th century. The most attractive style of Persian calligraphy is a blend of two of these six calligraphy styles - Reqaa and Naskh. 

The style that combines these Naskh and Reqaa and is incredibly popular today is what is known as Nas’taliq. This form of calligraphy follows natural curves. You can see this style of calligraphy featured in a lot of works of art and gifts in Persian stores today. Of course, you may want to try your hand at doing some Persian calligraphy yourself using some of the traditional tools. You will need a writing pad, silky ink controller, ink container, pen sharpener, calligraphy pen, and some paper to try this out.

So there you have it: everything that you need to know about Persian calligraphy. If you are looking for a special gift for someone you care about, Persian calligraphy is a beautiful choice that is assured to go down a treat. This stunning art form has a long and fascinating history, and this depth of culture makes any gift containing Persian calligraphy extra special. From cushions to wall art, there are many different ways you can go about buying a gift like this for someone special in your life.