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Book Description

Calligraphy means ‘the art of writing beautifully’. Driven by its use in the Qu’ran, artfully executed Arabic script became a key religious and political marker at a very early stage; since then calligraphy has played a central role in the Islamic world.

In addition to appearing on paper, artful writing can be found on everything, from coins, weapons, dishes, lamps and textiles to the façades and interiors of buildings. The many types of texts offer rich and varied insights into Islamic art, culture and societies.

Beyond Words presents 128 objects featuring calligraphy, most notably from The David Collection. In addition, the book contains articles on such subjects as the Arabic alphabet, classical scripts, the calligraphers and the different types of texts. The publication also explores the use of Arabic lettering in earlier European art and in modern-day Arabic graffiti.

Over time, writing has been developed and refined to a point where it has become an art form in its own right. Calligraphy is frequently used in almost every kind of media within the Islamic world – and hence has become a unique testimony to Islamic culture. The most skilled calligraphers have gone on to become famous artists, and several have formed schools within their respective fields.

After the rise of Islam in the seventh century and its initial spread, the Arabic script took on a very special significance becoming a unifying factor – an identity marker – across geography and ethnicity.

‘Because the use of imagery of living beings was not practiced in religious contexts - even in early Islam – beautifully conducted handwriting took on a notable role in Islamic culture.’ says curator Peter Wandel, who curated the exhibition, alongside fellow curator Rasmus Bech Olsen and director Joachim Meyer. In the Islamic world, inscriptions appear in far more contexts than in most other cultures. We see calligraphy on everything from parchment and paper to everyday objects and buildings. The calligraphic quotations also range from poetic extracts written by famous poets to passages honouring the rulers or owners of the commissioned works as well as texts about the artists themselves. Very often, however, we find Koranic quotations:

‘The Qu’ran is written in Arabic, and therefore the writing alone – when beautifully performed – is considered a tribute to God’ (Peter Wandel)

The exhibition of Beyond Words: Calligraphy from the World of Islam is open to the public at The David Collection in Copenhagen from 24 May 2024 until the 26 January 2025. The exhibition presents 128 individual works, all of which exemplify the importance and role of calligraphy. The audience is introduced to different types of writing and the different usages from official documents to metal work, ceramics, textiles and architecture. The selected objects stem mainly from The David Collection, but the exhibition also includes works from Designmuseum Denmark, The Hirschsprung Collection, the Royal Danish Library and The National Museum of Denmark.