Iranian Calligrapher Showcases Importance of Kufic Scripts in Sharjah
Jazayeri has showcased the three types of Kufi: Kufi Al Mashreqi (the eastern Kufi), Kufi Al Maghribi (the western Kufi), and Kufi Al Masahef (the Kufi used in the Holy Quran).
He has also shown the thirty chapters of the Holy Quran, that was written in special ancient sheets of paper, decorated with gold water, and covered by expensive leather and wooden books, GToday reported.
Another unique board of Surat Al Qader is made of goatskin, written in Kufi, and decorated with gold water. It took him two weeks to finish this board.
Moreover, Kufic is considered as the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script. Kufic developed around the end of the 7th century in Kufa, now Iraq, from which it takes its name, and other centers.
Jazayeri was self-independent in studying and searching about Kufi, as he had been to several mosques in different Islamic states such as Istanbul in Turkey, Kufa in Iraq, some cities in south of Iran, and some Arab cities. So he studied Thulth and Naskh scripts in 1982 and after nearly ten years, began teaching students in Tehran since 1991.
Within a year, he was developing two complementary fields: contemporary type design, and historical calligraphy research in a range of media, such as: ceramics, coins, plaster and stone, as well as manuscripts.
He has held numerous workshops on reviving the early Kufic calligraphic style. For his accomplishments over the past two decades, he was awarded the "Excellence in Art Certificate” by the Ministry of Culture, the equivalent of an honorary PhD degree.
Asking about the challenges in reviving Kufi scripts, he said that there are many people including officials, teachers, and students who have no idea about the importance of Kufi.
