Kufic

クーフィー体 / 8th century onward / Style / Calligraphic Traditions

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

Horizontals drawn long / Short angular uprights / Letters turning at right angles / Lines massed into an even band

Kufic Qur'an manuscript, 8th–9th century — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainPrayer text in Thuluth script — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainTughra of Suleiman I, 16th century — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Dictionary entry

Best used for
Cutting 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 distance
Type
Fix the ratio of upright to horizontal first, and turn every corner at a right angle
Composition
Align the top and the foot of the line, space the uprights evenly, and run the letters as a band
Material
Cut into stone, brick and tile, and on parchment hold the stroke to an even weight with the reed pen
Caution
Copying only the right angles while breaking the joins between letters leaves an ornamental band that no longer reads as a word.
Further study
Ibn Muqla's proportional theory / the Six Scripts / the tughra and official documents

Related entries

Cite this entry

The dictionary is meant to be linked to. Take whichever form fits where you are writing.

Link
https://indexstyle.org/styles/kufic
Markdown
[Kufic — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/kufic)
HTML
<a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/kufic">Kufic — IndexStyle</a>

Back to index position