Ancient Makkah-centered map fetches over $2m at auction in London
Updated 24 November 2023
Rawaa Talass
DUBAI: A map of the world centered on Makkah created in Safavid Persia in the 17th century has been sold for £1.86 million ($2.33 million) in London through auction house Bonhams.
Nima Sagharchi, the director of Middle Eastern and Islamic art at Bonhams, described it as one of the most valuable items of sophisticated Islamic craftsmanship ever to be sold at auction — particularly given the current “challenging market.”
“With what’s going on in the Middle East right now, the focus of the world is not particularly on the art market,” Sagharchi told Arab News. “But when something like this comes up, it’s an opportunity for institutions that they cannot miss.”
He explained that the circular brass object was purchased by an anonymous institution based in the Gulf region. “It makes sense because the object is centered on the Gulf. It is where it belongs,” he said.
(Supplied)
It is reportedly one just three surviving complete examples of such intricate mapmaking with Makkah at its center, which Sagharchi said was “a kind of forgotten tradition.” A tricky object to decipher, the map contains a compass and is engraved with delicate calligraphy and a central grid pattern, based on the latitude and longitude of Earth.
“The whole world is within a 22-centimeter diameter,” Sagharchi said. Some of the squares are filled with names of cities of the Islamic world, including Isfahan and Istanbul (Kostantiniyye on this map).
Meanwhile, the empty spaces could be updated with newly discovered places. “It has to preserve all of the scientific and geometrical accuracy of a map,” noted Sagharchi. “It’s not only about making it look beautiful, but making it with no margin of error. Everything has to be perfectly measured and spaced.”
The map is a multifunctional item, with which the user could calculate the distance to — and direction of — Makkah for prayer, as well as tell the time (the map includes a lid that can act as a sundial). Atop the lid stands a triangular ruler, which can be moved around the map, allowing the reader to measure the space between a particular city and Makkah.
“It is very advanced,” Sagharchi said. “All the academics say that it’s almost like a computer.”
From struggles to innovation: How Saudi calligrapher Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi revolutionized Arabic script
‘I feel there is a holy light within the letters,’ says Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi
Updated 22 November 2024
Rawaa Talass
DUBAI: Saudi calligrapher and arts instructor Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi’s first love was the pen. His fascination with writing began in elementary school in the Eighties in his hometown of Madinah.
Al-Rashedi talks about holding a pen in the same way a musician might discuss holding their instrument. In the eyes of the calligrapher, writing is an artistic act, like a dance, that has its own kind of magic.
“What I loved about the pen was the way the ink was flowing out of it,” he tells Arab News. “The pen led me to my love of writing Arabic calligraphy.”
Al-Rashedi talks about holding a pen in the same way a musician might discuss holding their instrument. (Supplied)
But there were challenges imposed by the conservative social environment of the Kingdom in the Eighties and Nineties.
“People didn’t regard art as something important. During that time, people thought that art couldn’t generate money. For them, it was a waste of time,” he says. “In such a depressing environment, I was suffering from people’s lack of interest. They were saying that the writing would distract me from my studies. But actually, it encouraged me to study.”
Not everyone disregarded his interest in pursuing calligraphy, however. Al-Rashedi’s late father was always a supporter.
3punt 2. (Supplied)
“He was a believer in writing, and conserving it,” Al-Rashedi says. “He thought I was doing something important with my life, even though others thought it wasn’t important. They likened it to making scribbles. I was literally making art on my own. None of my friends shared this interest with me and there were no calligraphy institutes to encourage this talent. The situation was very difficult.”
But in 1993, Al-Rashedi learned there was, in fact, a master Saudi calligrapher living in Madinah: Ahmad Dia. He kindly agreed to teach Al-Rashedi the basics of Arabic calligraphy. And, perhaps just as importantly, to do so in his home, which Al-Rashedi compares to a school and a museum, as well as a meeting place for calligraphers.
“I was young, but he treated me like a man,” the artist recalls. “For us calligraphers, he was like a spiritual father figure, who planted a seed of determination in us. He always encouraged us and never told us off if our writing wasn’t on point.”
3punt 4. (Supplied)
Al-Rashedi remained in contact with his tutor until Dia’s death in 2022 during the COVID pandemic. “When he died, it felt as if the light went off,” Al-Rashedi says.
Al-Rashedi also trained himself by copying the work of another important figure: Hashem Al-Baghdadi, the influential Iraqi calligrapher and educator who published books on the rules of Arabic calligraphy. Al-Rashedi describes the pre-social media era as a “truly dark period” when there were no opportunities to host exhibitions or share his work with others.
“People weren’t communicating with each other. It was a period that lacked (opportunity) and even good materials, such as pens and paper,” he recalls.
But with the advent of social media, most notably Facebook, and the opening of a few art galleries, including Jeddah’s Athr Gallery in 2009, things improved drastically. Today, Al-Rashedi is able to share his work on Instagram and other platforms, displaying the skills he has honed over three decades of practice.
His fascination with writing began in elementary school in the Eighties in his hometown of Madinah. (Supplied)
Arabic calligraphy is an internationally respected art form that has existed for thousands of years, exercised in Islamic texts and found on monuments around the world. So, what is its long-lasting secret?
“I often ask myself why the curves of Arabic calligraphy have bewitched people for so long, and I believe it inevitably has something to do with its holiness,” he says. “Allah has been an inspiration for calligraphers and their innovation of writing. I feel there is a holy light within the letters of Arabic calligraphy.”
But Al-Rashedi also believes that, for many years, calligraphy has been stuck in a rut, untouched by modern innovation or creativity.
3punt 6. (Supplied)
“Many calligraphers have literally said that Arabic calligraphy has reached its end and no one could add anything new to it,” he says. “Such an idea is incorrect.”
Indeed, Al-Rashedi has invented his own form of Arabic calligraphy, which he calls “3punt.” (He says the name refers to the size of the letters, which are written using three different pens.)
“It depends on the idea of lessening the thickness of the letter. Usually, one pen is used in Arabic calligraphy. But I discovered that the original bulkiness of Arabic scripture and the usage of just one pen prevents Arabic calligraphy from having new forms of writing being added to its system.”
Based on a strict set of rules, Al-Rashedi’s 3punt calligraphy contains 55 “subtypes of writing,” he says. It has its own lightness and elegance, with carefully choreographed flowing lines of slender Arabic script.
Ultimately, Al-Rashedi believes that Arabic calligraphy is about connections.
“If we look at Latin or Chinese scripture, on letters like ‘n,’ ‘e,’ or ‘r,’ they are based on separate components. But with Arabic calligraphy, you can connect six or seven letters in one go,” he says. “Without a doubt, Arabic writing — as an art form — is superior to other types of writing.”
US contemporary artist Brendan Murphy discusses his first show in Riyadh
Updated 22 November 2024
Sulafa Alkhunaizi
RIYADH: The American contemporary artist Brendan Murphy brought his solo exhibition “Complete Control” to Ahlam Gallery in Riyadh on Nov. 7. The Riyadh show is the conclusion of a global tour that Murphy began in June 2024 at Fineart Oslo.
The show features a number of Murphy’s iconic “Spaceman” sculptures, with a particular focus on his limited-edition collectible series titled “Magication.”
In an interview with Arab News, Murphy said the main goal of his show is to bring people “into the moment.” He also stressed that he felt a “creative cultural resonance” with the Kingdom, where he believes people have shown “an appetite for creative works.”
The Riyadh show is the conclusion of a global tour that Murphy began in June 2024 at Fineart Oslo. (Supplied)
He said: “I have a lot of stuff I’m working on, but I’m focused on building a foundation in Riyadh right now. This show is not a one-shot deal, I want to be a part of this renaissance (that’s happening in Saudi Arabia) for the next five to 10 years, at least. I want to be a part of it — I want to lead it if I can.”
Murphy’s body of work includes colorful abstract paintings and sculptures of his signature Spacemen, which explore themes of beauty, power, and the human experience.
As a kid, watching astronauts and space shuttle launches played a major role in Murphy’s life and eventually became one of his main artistic inspirations.
Brendan Murphy's 'Frozen With Desire.' (Supplied)
“My spacemen have little to do with space travel,” he explained. “They epitomize embracing the unknown — taking that step — more than somebody that literally is flying into darkness.”
Murphy’s Spacemen come in various sizes and forms, including small collectibles and large-scale installations. This versatility allows them to fit into diverse settings, from private collections to public art displays. The sculptures can be found across the world, including a 13-foot Spaceman in Houston’s Minute Maid Park baseball stadium and a 22-foot Spaceman in Oslo.
Murphy hasn’t always been an artist. He was once a professional basketball player in Europe, and then became a Wall Street trader. “I did not make a full pivot into accepting that I was a creative person until I was maybe 29,” he said. Today, he is one of most financially successful contemporary artists in the world.
In 2021, Brendan created his “Boonji Project” — a collection of his artwork as non-fungible tokens — and launched it on the Ethereum blockchain (which uses the cryptocurrency Ether). It became the largest primary NFT sale in history, producing $15.5 million dollars.
Brendan Murphy's 2023 work '9 Intentions.' (Supplied)
His work has proven popular with both serious collectors and celebrities, including the tennis players Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, as well as US business mogul Warren Buffett.
Inspired by artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jackson Pollock — famed for their use of color — Murphy’s art aims to encourage the viewer to tune into their emotions and discover the unknown.
“I love color as a means of communicating a feeling,” Murphy said. “When I make something and I get it right, my work creates energy and that’s pretty cool. Color is the easiest way of creating energy; different colors connect with different feelings.”
Murphy said his practice, by choice, demands that he step out of his comfort zone. He utilizes non-traditional methods and rare materials including chrome and diamonds to create conceptual pieces. He has become famous for his extravagant works of art, including “Frozen with Desire,” a sculpture of an astronaut encrusted with 6,200 diamonds, priced at $25 million.
“As an artist, you have to be uncomfortable all the time,” he said. “Find comfort in what you can control, then break it and go where you have no idea what you’re doing.”
Mark Strong plays ‘interesting version’ of all-powerful ruler in ‘Dune: Prophecy’
Updated 22 November 2024
Shyama Krishna Kumar
JEDDAH: The latest big-budget sci-fi series takes fans back to the familiar universe of Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” but 10,000 years before the events of the recent movies starring Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet.
The HBO Max show “Dune: Prophecy” — streaming in the Middle East on OSN+ — follows the rise of the shadowy Bene Gesserit sisterhood. British actor Mark Strong takes on the role of Emperor Javicco Corrino, a man who has become ruler of the galaxy at a tumultuous time.
No stranger to playing characters in powerful positions — most recently, he portrayed the ruthless mob boss Carmine Falcone in another HBO series, “Penguin” — Strong claims that his Emperor Corrino is a little different to the usual screen versions of such men.
“I’m playing a very interesting version of the guy in charge,” Strong tells Arab News. “So, he is the emperor of the universe, which is a great part to play as an actor, obviously, but what’s fascinating about him is his vulnerability — the fact that he is managing a fragile peace.
“So, the guy isn’t what I normally am asked to play, which is people with power who know what they’re doing. He’s very unsure of himself. He doesn’t feel like he’s inherited the ability of his father, he feels a bit of an imposter. He’s trying to deal with a world that he’s not in control of. And I love that juxtaposition of a man that’s supposed to be in charge and supposed to know what he’s doing, and actually he’s very unsure of himself.”
For Strong, the success of the current “Dune” movie and TV franchise is down to the source material.
“The base of the whole thing is these amazing novels that people adore. They are incredibly complicated — really rich. A lot of what we know as modern science fiction, whether it’s ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Star Wars’ or whatever, they come from those books,” he said.
“It’s a world that you want to try and have a go at, because nobody’s done it before. The series, obviously, is set before the movies and in a very different world. And it’s great to have a go at something that that is as fresh as this.”
The exhibition, at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia until April 2, explores the legacy of the fashion designer and his successors through a specially curated narrative
Updated 21 November 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: An exhibition celebrating the life and work of fashion designer Christian Dior is now open at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia as part of this year’s Riyadh Season.
“Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams,” a retrospective covering more than 75 years of his creativity and design and the work he inspired, is a collaboration between the French fashion house and Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
“Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” is a collaboration between the French fashion house and GEA. (Supplied)
The event, which runs until April 2, explores the legacy of Dior and his successors through a fresh narrative specially curated for the show by art historian Florence Muller and scenographer Nathalie Criniere.
The exhibition covers more than 75 years of creativity and design and the work Dior inspired. (Supplied)
Highlights include tributes to some of Dior’s classic designs, such as Miss Dior and J’adore, and an homage to the Lady Dior bag in the form of the Dior Lady Art project.
Faisal Bafarat, the CEO of the General Entertainment Authority, officially opened the exhibition on Wednesday. Tickets are available from the WeBook platform.
Where We Are Going Today: Soul Bowl restaurant in Riyadh
Updated 21 November 2024
Tamara Aboalsaud
Soul Bowl, an on-the-go healthy meal station is catching the eye of Riyadh’s foodie and wellness fiends with their nutritious bowls and sandwiches.
While most tend to order for delivery, you can enjoy a comfortable and quaint indoor dining experience in their store in As Sahafah; where the neutral colors, soft warm lighting, and pop of green offer a welcoming atmosphere for both solo and social dining.
Soul Bowl’s menu offers a wide selection of salads, bowls, flatbread sandwiches, wraps, soups, and rice meals, as well as fresh juices, desserts and acai bowls.
Their wraps and bowls are a hit, with the chicken chipotle wrap and the Mexican bowl as big standouts.
The chicken used is clearly of high quality and cooked very well, and the rest of the ingredients, such as the greens, rice, sauces, feel very fresh. The flatbread sandwiches, however, are a bit of a hit or miss.
The main courses they offer range from tandoori chicken to beef stroganoff.
