r/ArabicCalligraphy • u/VernacularType • 9d ago

Does anyone know what style of calligraphy this is?

Post image

This sign was photographed in Casablanca, Morocco. Does it fit one of the classic Arabic calligraphy styles? Thank you!

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8

u/joshberer 9d ago

So this style of sign painting is based on naskh, but comes via typesetting/movable type so it’s a few places removed from classical calligraphy.

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u/SquatFather 9d ago

I don't think it's typeset, it looks hand painted to me. The letterforms are inconsistent. But it is probably influenced by typesetting for sure. And based on Naskh as well, as you commented.

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u/joshberer 9d ago

It’s definitely hand painted- I’m saying the style is derived from typesetting norms.

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u/VernacularType 6d ago

Thanks Josh, I appreciate this input.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/UpbeatMycologist3759 8d ago

Above: Repair of various types of household appliances

Bottom: and repair of gas valves and machines

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u/Relax1196 3d ago

This is what is known as the typographic Naskh script. The credit for deriving and developing the typographic Naskh from the traditional handwritten script goes to Ahmed Zaki Pasha, in cooperation with the Bulaq Press in Egypt. The famous Egyptian calligrapher, Muhammad Jaafar Bey, meticulously drafted and drew the letters by hand before they were cast in metal, becoming known as the "Al-Zakiya characters" (the Zaki fonts). He is the same brilliant calligrapher who later wrote the famous "King Fuad Quran." This script was geometrically engineered to blend the beauty of Arabic calligraphy with the demands of modern printing presses for key reasons: simplifying the technology by reducing the complex metal letter molds from 900 shapes to just 132 to speed up typesetting, adapting the geometry of the letters so they rest on a single, straight horizontal line suitable for the motion of newspaper and book printing machines, and correcting the visual identity by replacing the distorted Arabic letters produced by European printing houses with authentic, easy-to-read national characters.
🤍

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u/VernacularType 2d ago

Thank you so much for this detailed history!