CSMC Seminar on Persianate Written Artefacts

[Evyn Kropf]

fyi from the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures at Hamburg

https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/news/2024-03-13-persinate-written-artefacts.html

New Seminar on Persianate Written Artefacts The seminars of the new series on ‘Persianate Written Artefacts’, organised by Shervin Farridnejad, aim to engage Persian, Dari, and Tojiki-speaking students and scholars with the research methodologies and concepts of written artefacts developed at the CSMC. The first seminar of the series, ‘Studying the Seals on Iranian Manuscripts During the Islamic Period’, took place on 18 and 19 March. Taught by Emad Sheykh-ol-Hokamaee (University of Teheran), it introduced a crucial component of manuscripts and archival documents produced in Iran, playing a significant role in various domains, particularly in authenticating legal deeds and tracing ownership. More information

[Shahram Taavoni]

Outdated information pertaining to a long passed seminar in March, mailed just now. April 9th.  Very Interesting!!

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[Evyn Kropf]

Greetings, 

Many thanks for your interest in this New Seminar Series on Persianate Written Artefacts. Please feel free to register with the CSMC list to receive news of the next events in the series. 

https://lists.uni-hamburg.de/mailman/listinfo/manuscript-cultures

You may be especially interested in this Thursday's lecture 

https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/en/register/lecture42

Avoiding Perfection: Tracing the Origins and Evolution of an Iranian Scribal Tradition

Thursday, 11 April 2024, 4:15 pm – 6:00 pm CEST

Warburgstraße 26, 20354 Hamburg, Room 0001 (Pavilion), and online

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Avoiding Perfection

Tracing the Origins and Evolution of an Iranian Scribal Tradition

Emad Sheikh al-Hokamaee (University of Tehran)

A significant characteristic of documents from Islamic Iran is the intentional removal of the right bottom corner. It is the result of a deliberate scribal practice to avoid a perfect four-square shape (Arabic/Persian: tarbīʿ). This practice had been noted by some French travellers in 17th-century Safavid Iran, but it has remained unexplored since. In this presentation, I will delve into its roots and show its evolution. I will rely on the largely unpublished Ardebil archives, the most extensive collection of pre-Safavid judicial and administrative documents, alongside other documents from the Safavid (16th-18th c.) and Qajar (19th c.) periods. Statistical analysis will allow the categorisation of the modifications made to these documents. Based on a vast array of references in writing manuals and poetry, I argue that before the 14th century, the practice of eschewing perfect four-square shapes was closely tied to astronomical beliefs linked to the cycles of the moon. 

In a further part, I will show the influence of the same tradition on the layout of the codex-shape manuscripts, highlighting how it determined the choice of a special kind of frame for the margins, as well as the intentional extension of text beyond the margins. 

This talk will not only shed light on a unique aspect of Iranian manuscript culture but also challenge the perception of such imperfections as anomalies or the result of mere superstition.

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Join the lecture online on ZOOM:

https://uni-hamburg.zoom.us/j/63529475168?pwd=aUVyUVFqTHphRWFQODY4RitYVjA4dz09

Meeting ID: 635 2947 5168
Passcode: 83192771

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mideastcat-l/CADaX9Fy3fc6Czz%2Bq7NJZchWvvU-2KOu1M8BKKSJf11X2bMoNOA%40mail.gmail.com.