The Cosmic Script: Sacred Geometry and the Science of Arabic Penmanship

by Ahmed Moustafa, Stefan Sperl

This landmark study is the first comprehensive exploration of the proportioned script, an arabic writing system attributed to the abbasid wazir (minister) ibn muqla and the master scribe ibn al-bawwab that has dominated the art of arabic and islamic penmanship from the 10th century to the present day volume one, sources and principles of the geometry of letters, traces the origin of the proportioned script to the cross-cultural encounter between greek learning and the scientific, artistic and philosophical pursuits of classical islam on the basis of instructions in surviving sources it identifies a grid module that serves as a common foundation for the design of all the arabic letter shapes in volume two, from geometric pattern to living form, the authors construct each of the letter shapes on the grid module and compare their findings to samples traced by two classical master scribes they conclude by examining the religious, aesthetic and cosmological significance of the proportioned script in the wider context of the islamic cultural heritage drs moustafa and sperl have succeeded in unearthing the very foundations of arabic penmanship, with implications for the arts of islam as a whole

724 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2014

Reviews

[Cesar Nammour · Rating 5 out of 5]

The COSMIC SCRIPT is a monumental landmark study of Arabic Calligraphy in two volumes (724 pages/430 full color illustrations).

For the first time, researchers in English can delve into the complete ten century theories of Ibn Muqla that laid the foundation of Arabic calligraphy and its implications to Islamic thought.

This set of books is indispensable to universities and research centers.

[Murtaza]

I want to download this book , is it available ??