Kufic vs Persian Miniature

クーフィー体 / ペルシア細密画

Kufic comes from Calligraphic Traditions and Persian Miniature from Persian and Indian Painting. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.

Kufic

Kufic — クーフィー体のクルアーン写本 8–9世紀 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainKufic — スルス体の祈祷文 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainKufic — スレイマン1世のトゥグラ（花押）16世紀 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Keeps the uprights short and draws the horizontals long, massing letters of straight strokes and right angles into a band of even height.

Persian Miniature

Persian Miniature — スルタン・ムハンマド『ゲイユマルスの宮廷』1520年代 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainPersian Miniature — ハーフィゼ・アブルー写本より ノアの方舟 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainPersian Miniature — ヘラート派『ゴレスターン』写本 1486 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Multiple viewpoints, jewel-like pigments and a composition unafraid of empty space paint poetry and history as complete worlds contained inside a book.

KuficPersian Miniature
Era8th century onward13th–17th century
FamilyCalligraphic TraditionsPersian and Indian Painting
KindStyleStyle
CuesHorizontals drawn long / Short angular uprights / Letters turning at right angles / Lines massed into an even bandMulti-viewpoint space / Saturated mineral pigments / Ornamentalized nature / Script united with image
Best used forCutting an inscription into a wall or a vessel as a band · Using the angular letterforms as figure, for titling and marks meant to be read from a distanceIllustration that shows several moments of a story in one sheet · Books and bindings where text setting and image share one design
TypeFix the ratio of upright to horizontal first, and turn every corner at a right angleBuild the text panel into the picture, one ruled order for both
CompositionAlign the top and the foot of the line, space the uprights evenly, and run the letters as a bandDepth by height instead of perspective, figures spilling past the border
MaterialCut into stone, brick and tile, and on parchment hold the stroke to an even weight with the reed penHold mineral saturation, tighten planes with fine outlines and gold points
CautionCopying only the right angles while breaking the joins between letters leaves an ornamental band that no longer reads as a word.Converting the multiple viewpoints into single-point perspective collapses the space and destroys the picture's ability to narrate simultaneous events.

Put these two together

Calligraphic Traditions ／ Persian and Indian Painting

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