AtaboutthetimeofmiddayprayerIheardaknockatthedoor.ItwasBlalongago,fromourchildhood.Weembraced.HewaschillandIinvitedhiminside.Ididn’tevenaskhowhe’dfoundhiswaytothehouse.HisEnishtemusthavesenthimtoquestionmeaboutElegantEffendi’sabsendhiswhereabouts.Notonlythat,healshtwordfromMasterOsman.“Allowmetoaskyouaquestion,”hesaid.“AcctoMasterOsman,”time“separatesatrueminiaturistfromothers:Thetimeoftheillustration.”Whatweremythoughts?Listenclosely.

    PaintingandTimeLongago,asisonknowledge,theillustratorsofourIslamicrealm,including,forexample,theoldArabmasters,perceivingtheworldthewayFrankishinfidelsdotoday,wardeverythingaitfromthelevelofavagabond,muttorclerkatworkinhisshop.Unawareoftoday’sperspectival

    teiques,ofwhichtheFrankishmastershaughtilyboast,theirworldremaineddullandlimited,restrictedtothesimpleperspectiveofthemuttortheshopclerk.Theeventcametopassandourentireworldofillustrationged.Letmebeginhere.

    ThreeStoriesonPaintingandTimeALIFThreehundredfiftyyearsago,whenBaghdadfelltotheMongolsandwasmercilesslyplunderedonacolddayihofSafar,IbnShakirwasthemostrenorofitcalligrapherandscribenotonlyofthewholeArabworldbutofallIslamdom;despitehisyouth,hehadtranscribedtwenty-twovolumes,mostofwhichwereKoransandcouldbefoundintheworld-famouslibrariesofBaghdad.IbnShakirbelievedthesebookswouldlastuntiltheendoftheworld,and,therefore,livedandinfiionoftime.He’dtoiledheroicallyallthroughthenightbyflickeringdlelightoofthoselegendarybooks,whichareunknowntoustodaybecauseinthespanofafewdays,t