Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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The Attributes of Divine Perfection

  • Description

    In the words of the artist, Ahmed Moustafa, ‘the exact geometric basis of proportioned script does not simply provide a mathematical rationale for Islamic calligraphy, explaining why this art form is so harmonious… but it implies… that the Arabic script, like music, is a finely tuned abstract vocabulary embodying universal mathematical laws, and therefore has the power to have an objective moral and spiritual effect on the viewer.’

    A modern interpreter of Ibn Muqla’s geometric principles, Moustafa’s work continues the search for absolute harmony and convergence of content and form set by his predecessor. In this composition, a cube reminiscent of the Ka‘ba (Islam’s holiest shrine, located in Mecca) is built in such a way that, when open, it exposes exactly 99 units, enough to fit the 99 names of God mentioned in the Qur’anic quotation that covers the foreground.

  • Details

    Associated place
    EuropeUnited Kingdom England (probable place of creation)
    Date
    1987 (AH 1407)
    Artist/maker
    Ahmed Moustafa (born 1943) (designer)
    Material and technique
    inkjet on wove paper
    Dimensions
    77.5 x 68.5 cm sight size (height x width)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Accession no.
    EA2012.2

Past Exhibition

see (1)

Location

    • currently in research collection

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