Calligraphic composition, Caucasus, signed Mohammad Ja'far an-Nakhjawâni and dated 1877 Composition of 9 oblique lines of text calligraphed in black ink in naskhi Arabic in reserves on a gilded background with polychrome fleur-de-lys. The text corresponds to the words of the Shiite imam 'Alî ibn Abî Tâlib (599-661), cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad and fourth caliph of Sunni Islam. At the end of the text, signature of calligrapher Mohammad Ja'far an-Nakhjawâni and date 1294 H /1877. Composition mounted on an album page with a border of gilded vegetal scrolls on a blue background and a polychrome floral margin on a yellow background. Framed. Dim. calligraphy: 19 x 9.8 cm; dim. total: 31 x 21.8 cm Small stains. The nisba an-Nakhjawâni of the calligrapher who signed this composition links him to the Khanate of Nakhchivan in the Caucasus. Under Russian rule at the time this work was copied, Nakhchivan was an important center of Islamic culture.