23 February, 2025
✍️Scribal Art: Beauty in Diversity🪶
with the Ashmolean Museum Hosting
Bringing together communities and faiths of Oxfordshire
We are delighted to collaborate with the University of Oxford Ashmolean Museum – the holder of one of the richest collections of art, archaeology, and ancient world artefacts.
Photo courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum
Set amongst breathtaking scribal artefacts, this multiscriptal and multilingual event, organised by the Oxford Interfaith Forum, explores the past through the ancient art of calligraphy, and languages. After introducing to scripts of the Eastern and Western civilisations, visitors will be invited to write their chosen words in multiple languages and beautiful calligraphies.
Programme: coming soon
Date: 23 February, 2025
Time: 11am-4 pm GMT
Venue: Reading and Writing Gallery / The Hans and Märit Rausing Gallery, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
ALL Welcome
The Reading and Writing Gallery depicts the ancient scribing civilizations and their artefacts. This multilingual educational workshop explores the past through multiple ancient languages, scripts, and calligraphy. Participants will be introduced to various Eastern and Western alphabets, including Arabic, Armenian, Cyrillic, Ethiopian, Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Syriac, etc. The visitors can write sacred words, their names, and/or other phrases in multiple ancient scripts. The event offers everyone the first-hand scribal art experience, and promotes awareness about the diversity of our planet seeking beauty in each community, their language, culture, and script.
Sample of Armenian script.
Sample of Cyrillic script.
Sample of Ethiopian script.
Sample of Greek script.
Sample of Sanskrit script.
Sample of Syriac script.
Sample of Hebrew script (micrography).
Three Scripts of Georgian Language: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri, and Mkhedruli.
The lower part of the silver-plated box for keeping the Gospel. According to the old Georgian Language (Asomtavruli script), it was decorated by some R-Z Goshodze. The fate and current location of the item are unknown; preserved only in Dmitri Ermakov;s photo collection, ca. 17th-18th c.
Sample of Nuskhuri script.
Inscription in Mkhedruli script. The Bagrationi dynasty introduction style starting with ‘By the Grace of God, We, of Jesse, of David, of Solomon, Plankrationi (Bagrationi)’. King George XII Charter granting constableship to Eshikaghasbash Alexander Maqashvili in 1798.
The Reading and Writing Gallery Artefacts
Photo courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum
