Album folio of poetry c. 1725

tiling design

natural stone pattern

naturalistic pattern

geometric pattern

pattern background

tile art

ethnic pattern

vertical pattern

pattern repetition

layered pattern

This album folio from around 1725 showcases intricate Persian calligraphy and floral motifs. The central panel features flowing script in a dark green ink against a golden background, accented by a delicate scattering of flowers. This intricate work is framed by a decorative border filled with poppies. The use of vibrant colors and intricate detail is characteristic of the Mughal style, a highly influential artistic tradition of the time. This folio highlights the artistic fusion of Islamic calligraphy and natural forms that flourished in 18th-century India.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Album pages combining fine calligraphy with borders richly illuminated with floral and animal motifs were a favorite Mughal art form as early as Jahangir (1569-1627). During this time, the precious albums assembled from various sources (muraqqa), became popular at court and somewhat supplanted the illustrated book. The taste and expertise of its compiler, rather than the talent of a single artist, determined the range of theme, artistic quality, and coherency of an assembled album. This page shows four lines of graceful nasta'liq script set against a minutely rendered, scrolled floral background of gold and blue, approximating the Persian manner. The white borders, however, punctuated with carefully painted poppies, reflect Mughal court taste of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.