The Throne Verse
Cut out Kufic style letters on goat skin, hand patina dyed and mounted over brown sheepskin.
Qur’an, Sura 2, verse 255. Based on a calligraphy by Sidi Abdalaziz Mohamed Al-Wardighi. "Allah! There is no deity but He, the Living, the Eternal Being. No slumber overtakes Him nor sleep. His is what is in the heavens and on earth. Who can intercede with Him except with His leave? He knows all that is before them and after them; and they have none of His knowledge except what He wills. And His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and its protection is no burden to Him. And He is the Most High and the Most Great."
One original only.

White Minarets
Embossing and engraving on sheepskin.
Traditional Arabic calligraphy in Kufic style which translates thus: "There is no deity but Allah, Mouhamad is a Messenger of Allah".
Number 1 in a limited series of 5.

The Boat
Embossing, moulding and engraving on white sheepskin.
Based on a calligraphy by Mohamed son of Shafiq (1291) of the Mevlevi Order. The text translates thus: “ I take refuge in Allah from Satan the stoned one; in the name of Allah The Beneficent, The Merciful; Oh Allah who opens the doors, open for us the best door”.
Number 1 in a limited series of 5.

The Niche For Light
Original calligraphy by Jorge Centofanti. Leaf gilding on white sheepskin; embossing and tooling on niche over mount.
Qur’an, Sura 24, Verse 34: "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. His light may be compared to a niche that enshrines a lamp, the lamp within a crystal of star-like brilliance. It is lit from a blessed olive tree neither eastern nor western. Its very oil would almost shine forth, though no fire touched it. Light upon Light; Allah guides to His light whom He will."
Number 1 in a limited series of 3.

All Sustenance
Embossing, moulding, engraving and tooling on white sheepskin.
Traditional Arabic calligraphy in Thulti style, which reads: "All sustenance comes from Allah."
Number 1 in a limited series of 5.

Bismillah
Embossing, moulding, engraving and leaf gilding on white sheepskin.
Traditional Arabic calligraphy which translates thus: “In the name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful."
Number 1 in a limited series of 5.

Opener of Doors
Embossing, moulding, engraving and tooling on white sheepskin.
Traditional Arabic calligraphy which reads thus: “O thou Opener of Doors”.
Number 1 in a limited series of 5.

Hearts With Wings
Embossing, moulding, engraving and tooling on white sheepskin.
Traditional calligraphy with the opening line of every Chapter from the Qur’an which translates: “In the name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful."
One original only.

Tiles of The Alhambra
Traditional calligraphy of Ibn Al Ahmar’s motto (1239) , founder of the Nasri dynasty and of the Alhambra Palace in Granada: “Only God is the Victor.”
Number 1 in a limited series of 5.

Caligraphy the Pure Art

The calligraphies represented here are a part of the Islamic tradition and, like icons, they carry a religious message. They exemplify different styles of Arabic writing and belong to a culture that from its rise in the 7th century A D, found in calligraphy a pure and unique form of expression and developed it to a fine art by harmonising the message of the written word with the visual attributes of its letters.

From the earliest Kufic script(originated in the town of Kufa), which had rigid and angular characters, there developed a ‘rounded Kufic’ which incorporated rounded elements to its geometry and is said to be the origin of the cursive styles of writing. Beautiful examples of this script can be found in manuscripts of the Qur’an and architectural decorations. Many other styles of Kufic had developed by the 10th century (“floral”, “plaited”, or “Andalusian”, “Maghrebi”) when the cursive, or naskh scripts appeared, opening up the creative scope of the language. Of these, Naskhi is the best known; Thuluth (or Thulti) is powerful and expressive; Ruq’a is the simplest ; Musalsal is rhythmic; Tughra was used for the seals of the Ottoman sultans.

At first, the word was written with ink from a reed pen on parchment or vellum skins, the oldest material used by scribes. Through the centuries, inscriptions in diverse styles have been woven into carpets or embroidered in silks; they have been carved out of ivory or wood or stone, or shaped in stucco; glazed in ceramics, painted in glass, engraved in gold, or silver, or bronze, they have formed part of mosaics, they have been illuminated in manuscripts and leather murals. . .

These calligraphies set before us the work of other artists, some anonymous, transmuting into visual form the experience of other places and other times than our own. They have in common their strength and their beauty, uniquely combined qualities that transcend the language barriers. These Pure qualities provided a source of inspiration that led Jorge Centofanti to transpose the inscriptions into his own media and to evolve new techniques in order to meet the challenge of offering an interpretation of work already beautiful and, at the same time, show leather in all its versatility.

References:
The Splendour of Islamic Calligraphy by Abdelkebir Khatibi and Mohammed Sijelmassi; Thames & Hudson.
Geometric Concepts in Islamic Art, Chapter IV: Arabic Calligraphy by Issam El-Said & Ayse Parman. World of Islam Publishing Co.
The Influence of Islam on Arabic Calligraphy, article Published in The Minaret, Vol 1, number 3.