Mufradat exercise

Calligraphic panel in Nasta'liq script showcasing a letter exercise combining the letter "h" with other letters of the alphabet, typical of Ottoman calligraphic practices in the 18th Cent. Albums of letter, or mufradat, exercises include the single letters (al-huruf al-mufradah or, in the Ottoman tradition, huruf-i muqatta'a) of the Arabic alphabet in sequence, followed by letters in their composite form (in the Turkish tradition, murekkebe, lit. "pairs"). Exercise books begin at least during the 17th century and are typical of Ottoman calligraphic practices. They were used as books of exemplars of calligraphy to introduce students into the practice of husn al-khatt (beautiful handwriting) and bear witness to the chain of transmission of calligraphic knowledge throughout the centuries (Safwat 1996:12-3). Dimensions of Written Surface: 14.9 (w) x 25.1 (h) cm There are a number of other letter exercise sheets in the collections of the Library of Congress. For example, see 1-85-154.84, 1-87-154.128a-b, and 1-88-154.36a-b. This calligraphic panel includes a letter exercise combining the letter "h" with all other letters of the alphabet starting with the letter "a" (alif) and ending with the letter "y" (ya). This particular exercise shows how an initial "h" letter must be connected to any number of subsequent letters or letter combinations. These composite letters, executed in nasta'liq script in black ink on white paper, are framed in blue and pasted to a purple piece of paper strengthened by a cardboard backing. Script: nasta'liq 1-85-154.97