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Album Page with Découpé Calligraphy

1630–40
Not on view
This calligraphic folio, comprised of découpé letters, floral motifs, and sinuous arabesques, is a masterful creation of two artists who have signed their work: Ali, the calligrapher and Muhammad Hasan, the paper cutter. The calligraphy reveals a saying attributed to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad) upon freeing his slave Qanbar, which became a well-known Shi’ite phrase. Here the letters are interwoven with a simple but strong S-shaped arabesque scroll bearing blossoms.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Album Page with Découpé Calligraphy
  • Date: 1630–40
  • Geography: Attributed to India, probably Bijapur. Country of Origin India
  • Medium: Gouache on black paper with colored and white decoupage
  • Dimensions: Frame: 18 1/8 × 13 11/16 × 7/8 in. (46.1 × 34.7 × 2.2 cm)
    Image: 16 3/4 × 12 5/8 in. (42.5 × 32 cm)
    Sheet: 12 3/8 × 7 7/8 in. (31.5 × 20 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions, Harris Brisbane Dick, and 2020 Benefit Funds; Howard S. and Nancy Marks, Lila Acheson Wallace, and Friends of Islamic Art Gifts; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and funds from various donors, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.203
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Album Page with Decoupe Vase of Flowers, Insects, and Birds, Muhammad Hasan, Gouache on black paper with colored and white decoupage
Album Page with Decoupe Vase of Flowers, Insects, and Birds
Muhammad Hasan
1630–40
Portrait of a Sufi, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Portrait of a Sufi
first quarter 17th century
Dagger (Katar) with Sheath, Steel, silk, Indian
Dagger (Katar) with Sheath
Indian
18th–19th century
Leaf of Calligraphy from Poems by Sa'di, Sa'di Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; decoupage and stenciled borders
Leaf of Calligraphy from Poems by Sa'di
Author Sa'di
16th century
Dagger (Katar), Steel, silver, gold, Indian; blade, European
Dagger (Katar)
Indian; blade, European
late 18th–19th century

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