Pictorial Calligraphy(Khatt Mushakkal)

Certain Prohibition in representational Arts, as painting, under early Islamic period, has persuaded Artists to invent various types of pen and fanciful methods in the art of calligraphy. This has resulted in certain of calligraphy forms and shapes of human, animals, different objects and so on. The high visual of calligraphy, in addition to its property conveying meaning and communicative aspect has resulted in many beautiful forms and shapes, along with inscription of expressions with themes that are harmonized with pictures. In formation of these forms, known as pictorial calligraphy (Khatt Mushakkal), the value of the appearance of lines has been preferred over their legibility and compliance with inscription rules; decorative and ornamental Kufic script in Iran was associated withAli ibn Abitaleb. For example, Sultan Ali Mushhadi the calligrapher, claims that Ali invented Kufic script. The association of Ali with Kufic enhance the religious implications of all forms of writing. Histories of calligraphy mention the Setta (six) traditional scripts. These scripts contains muhaggag, rayhan, nasakh, Riga, Thulth and Tauqi. Taken together these scripts provided calligraphers with a basic repertoire with which they could execute a variety of tasks. In connecting calligraphy with religious discipline, calligraphers were continuing a well-established tradition in the Islamic world. These is a saying attributed to both Euclid and Plato which seeks to define this instrumen. The view that writing was spiritual geometry gained particular strength from the precise geometric formulas of shape and proportion which were the basis of various scripts used in Persian tradition. Scripts used in the religious sphere were based on a canon of proportion which had evolved over several centuries. Therefore, the present article deals with the ability of association of calligraphy with images and its main focus is to collect and analyze works and examples that are focus is to this branch of calligraphy scripts. Going through the historical development of the pictorial calligraphy and examining the present inscriptions and methods of designing and drawing the pictorial handwriting along with Symbology of these works and analysis of visual characteristics of a number of examples, the article reaches a kind of conclusion. In these pictorial calligraphies priority of the aesthetic aspects and ornamentation of lines over the technical aspects of calligraphy and merge and formation of letters in each other as well as rich imaginative decorations have made up for pictorial vacuum that arises from prohibitions. The duty and undertaking of conveying meaning and philosophy too, as a requisite of the Islamic art of calligraphy in a symbolic form and within the shapes chosen by artist, is also perceivable within these pictorial calligraphies. All pictorial calligraphies were composed in Persian and penned in inky black scripts on white, ivory, and tan sheets presumably made as a practice exercise in the first instance, products of calligrapher’s endless activities. To comprehend the pictorial calligraphy, it is necessary to acknowledge, identify, and define the scope of changes made to it after its compilation. This article makes more sense to treat this task.