Representatives of the Samarkand school of calligraphy

Representatives of the Samarkand school of calligraphy

The most prominent representatives of the Samarkand school of calligraphy were:

Ahmad ibn ’Umar Ash’as Abu Bakr Samarqandi is a prominent calligrapher of the 11th century. He lived in Damascus for some time where he transcribed mushaf (copy) of the Qur’an.

Muhammad Sabir ibn Muhammad Salih Samarqandi was one of the skilled 17th- century calligraphers in Samarkand. He transcribed the work by Mu’in Miskin Hirawi “Ma’arij al-nubuwwa” (The Prophet’s Ascension) in Nasta’liq script on Samarkand paper in 1689. There is a gilded ornamentation at the beginning of the manuscript (Inventory No. 9621).

Muhammad ibn Husain Miraki Samarqandi (16th century) was historian and calligrapher. He transcribed the work “Ikhtiyarat-i Badi’i” (Selected [Pharmacopeia] Dedicated to Badi’) by ’Ali ibn Husayn al-Ansari especially for ’Abd al-Latif Shaybanid in 1541 (Inventory No. 1598).

Achildi Murad Miri Kattaqurghani Ni’matallah ( d. 1899) was known in Kattakurgan and environs under the pseudonym of Mulla Achildi, Achildi Makhdum and later Qazi Achildi. He earned a living by transcribing and selling works of Hafiz Shirazi, ’Alishir Nawa’i, Bedil and various textbooks (Inventory Nos. 1380, 1408, 9395).

’Abdaljabbar Urguti Samarqandi (1885 – 1910) is a well-known calligrapher and specialist in Nasta’liq script. He transcribed more than 250 manuscripts (Inventory No. 2460).

You can learn more about this topic in the book-album “The Collection of the Al-Biruni Institute of Oriental studies, the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan” (part five, “Miniature and Calligraphy”) (Volume XXV) from the series "The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan". 

The main sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.
 

Representatives of the Samarkand school of calligraphy