#paleography – @buffriday-with-the-bees on Tumblr

Four Ottoman calligrapher’s scissors, Turkey, 19th century

I thought “oooh pretty” and hit like and kept scrolling ... but then the second time I thought “hold the phone, why does a calligrapher need scissors?”

Korans and indeed any other books or documents had to be written by hand prior to the advent of Arabic typeset. Scissors such as these were part of the calligrapher's tools of trade. They were used to cut paper sheets to the correct size prior to binding. Such scissors were used to cut only the finest paper. Thicker paper was cut using shears.

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#scissors #tools #calligraphy #turkey #islam #adjacent #paleography #19th century #gold