Most
art isn’t an originator of thoughts or ideas in itself. Though it often
inspires us to think about an idea or issue, it often draws inspiration from
the life and world itself. Art, after all, doesn’t exist or thrive in
isolation. Its strokes and contours take cues from philosophies, histories, and
human experiences – the latter being its biggest source. Human experiences, and
humanity itself, is most affected by religion and spirituality. When art takes
inspiration from religion and spirituality, it’s called spiritual or
religion-inspired art. Within this sphere, Islamic calligraphy art has no parallel.
Islam’s prohibition on human and animal
imagery meant that artists had to explore unique ways to express their beliefs
and convictions. In Muslim countries, therefore, artists began expressing their
belief, culture and tradition with the help of Arabic calligraphy. They
inscribed verses of the Quran in what is called Islamic wall art – a
defining feature of most monuments built by Muslims. Even today, on the
Internet, one would find Islamic wall art for sale.
The
Arabic script’s natural cursiveness came as a boon to calligraphers– its loops,
curves, dashes, dots and diacritical marks can be manoeuvred to create a masterpiece.
Letters can be broken and blendedsmoothly with other letters – a quality that’s
rarely found in other scripts.
Besides
raising the aestheticsof palaces, mosques and forts, Arabic calligraphy has
also been used applied on handicrafts like ceramic tiles, ceramic pottery, carpets,
rugs, glassware, wooden work and brassware.
Each
Muslim-ruledempire came up with its own unique, regional style of Arabic calligraphy.
The Kufic style, for instance, is characterised by straight, angular strokes and
round characters with tiny counters. It orginatedin Kufa, Iraq. The Diwani
style of elaborate and ornate writing developed in Turkey.
Now,
one can look up Islamic wall artfor saleacross ecommerce platforms
such as Amazon, Etsy, Alibaba and Ebay. Islamic
wall art is a popular home décor category in the online market. Individual
artists also sell their calligraphic artworks on their Instagram handles. Other
social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter also help in expanding
their reach. In the past, only the royalty would commission artists to
customise calligraphic pieces for them. Now, people routinely ask for
customisation. People can sellers to make a work of art with a particular verse,
particular calligraphic style, a definite size, and on a particular material.
Islamic wall art
is also used to give as gifts on special occasions such as weddings,
anniversaries and the birth of a child. It’s a gift that educates, inspires,
and one that is special, rare and can be cherished forever. Gifting is one of
the new ways in which sellers of Arabic calligraphy art attempt to keep afloat
in the cluttered ecommerce market, drawing attention of viewers to their new
gifting ideas. Social media, in particular, helps them in promoting the ideas
and finding new enthusiasts. Indeed, Islamic wall art for sale seems
here to stay.
