The form of script called kufic is thought to have taken its name from the town of Kufah, established in Iraq in 641 C.E. Kufic is a more
or less square and angular script characterised by its heavy, bold style. Its letters were generally thick, squat, and unslanted, and it was
particularly suitable for writing on stone or metal, for painting or carving inscriptions on the walls of mosques, and for lettering on coins.
Professional copyists employed a particular form of kufic for reproducing the earliest surviving copies of the Qur'an. These were written on
parchment and date from the 8th to the 10th century. The writing was frequently large, especially in the early examples; sometimes there were
as few as three lines to a single page. Any perceptible stiffness and angularity in this script was beautifully counterbalanced by its
majestic and measured pace.
With the passage of time kufic grew more ornamental, its shapes became plaited, knotted, or foliated (leaf-like). It disappeared from general
use about the 11th century, although its distinct characteristics encouraged its use as a decorative element.
On this web site kufic script can be found painted on a ceramic bowl and inscribed into the surface of an
astrolabe.
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