Calligraphy of Chaghatai Turkish Poems in Praise of Wine (verso)
1510
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1510
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
This page shows delicate calligraphy in flowing Arabic script called nasta‘liq. The words are written in Chaghatai Turkish, a language used by the early Mughals before Persian took over. A quatrain in the center mentions wine, hinting at royal court poetry. That’s odd because the Mughals later chose Persian as their official language. Few Chaghatai works survive, making this one special. Check out the same artist’s style in the The Cleveland Museum of Art.
