Patrick Ravines and Shingo Ishikawa : The conservation of Middle Eastern Arabic calligraphy.

This presentation will discuss the different components and range of condition problems of 19th century Middle Eastern Arabic and Persian calligraphies and documents found in the archival collections at the Baha'i World Centre, Haifa, Israel. Two detailed examples of conservation treatment approaches will be presented. The first is the conservation treatment of a 19th century calligraphy by Mirza Husayn Isfahani, known as Mishkin Qalam, "the musk scented pen", a renowned Persian Baha'i calligrapher and poet of the Ottoman Empire.

The calligraphy is a fine example of Mishkin Qalam's mastery of the art. The work was penned in Akka in 1897 and consists of 13 lines and 12 border cartouches (6 on each side). Each line has been written in different calligraphic styles such as divani, shikaste, and others. Examination of the calligraphy identified various types of old and recent damage. Recent damage can be attributed to a late 1970s reframing campaign and fragments belonging to this piece were serendipitously found. This find allowed for a better and more comprehensive conservation treatment proposal and execution. The second example is the conservation of a letter or ‘tablet', black ink on thin European paper that was posted from Iran to the UK hand carried to Haifa, and damaged in transit.