Technique

All our products are handmade. Calligraphy, like any other art, is replete with various secrets and different material preparation techniques. As the process of making calligraphy panels (ar. لوحة lawha) is quite complex, we would like to present here some basic facts about this process:

Paper

We typically refine both handmade and industrial-made paper in order to make it suitable for writing. Initially, it is colored with colors made from herbal sources and afterwards coated with glair. After being put aside for some period of time (usually about six months), we burnish the paper, and finally use it for writing.

Pens and Ink

Arabic calligraphy is written with a special type of pen, named qalam, which is usually made by sharpening the tips of reed or bamboo cane. These pens require special type of ink, named murakkab (ar. مركب), that is usually produced from soot and gum arabic (acacia gum), where the later is being used as a binding element.

Writing

After long and laborious preparations, we can finally focus on the key part of each calligraphic panel—a written word. In Islamic calligraphy, many different styles and scripts were developed during the centuries, and some of those include:

• Thuluth (ar. ثلث): the most complicated, yet considered the most beautiful script. It is mainly used for short inscriptions.

  

• Naskh (ar. نسخ): one of the earliest scripts. It is usually used for books and longer texts.

  

• Nasta'liq (ar. نستعليق ): the most rhythmic Arabic script that originated in Persia. This script is usually used for poetry.

  

• Kufi (ar. الكوفي): a geometric script that is considered to be the oldest form of Arabic script. It is particularly suited for decorating building exteriors as it easily fits various geometric forms.
• Diwani (ar. الديواني): developed in Turkey and commonly used for firmans (Sultan's edicts) and official documents in Ottoman Empire.

  

• Riq'ah (ar. الرقعة ): a script designed for everyday handwriting.

  

In addition to Arabic scripts, we can also write all variants of Latin script:

Furthermore, we write Hebrew and Cyrillic scripts, including the Church Slavonic Cyrillic and Bosnian Cyrillic (the script of ancient Bosnian gravestones, stećci). Below are the examples of Bosnian script in both Latin and Cyrillic variants:

Decoration

The process of decoration (also known as ornamentation), whose function is to further emphasize the written word, comes at the very end. In the most cases, colored and gilded ornaments with floral and geometric motifs are added to the calligraphic panels.

We invite you to visit our gallery to see the final result of the aforementioned process.

Calligraphy studio Husni Hatt also decorates mosques and similar objects, composes and writes plaques and headstone epitaphs, and writes all other kinds of inscriptions in Arabic, Latin or Cyrillic scripts.