BA Participation in the Inauguration of the Eighth Round of Cairo International Forum for Arabic Calligraphy
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The BA Writing and Scripts Center and the Art Exhibitions and Collections Department took part in the inauguration of the eighth round of Cairo International Forum for Arabic Calligraphy, held under the title "Calligraphy and Victory – Fifty Years of Glorious Victories (1973-2023)”. The Forum is organized by the Cultural Development Fund of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and takes place at the Art Palace, Cairo Opera House, during the period from 10 to 20 October 2023. The BA display includes valuable collections of panels belonging to Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Rahman, master calligrapher in the royal period.
Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Rahman was born in 1890, in the town of Al-Maymoun in Beni Suef, and grew up reciting the Holy Quran. He joined the primary teachers' schools and Al-Azhar, and learned Arabic calligraphy at the hands of Professor Mahmoud Abdel Razek. He was appointed teacher of Arabic calligraphy at the Al-Azhar Institute in Alexandria and later worked in the Egyptian Geological Survey Department in 1919. He also worked as an "expert" of calligraphy, emulation and forgery in the Egyptian courts. His calligraphic art can been found on the sea gate of the Saray of Prince Muhammad Ali. He remained a master of calligraphy until his death in 1950.
It is worth mentioning that the Bibliotheca Alexandrina received this donation from the family of Sheikh Abdel Rahman in 2019, and an exhibition of this rare collection was previously held at the BA at the time of the donation. Moreover, the Writing and Scripts Center participated in last year’s round of the Cairo Forum for Arabic Calligraphy with a collection of rare calligraphic works from the Library holdings, including the works of Mr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Mr. Kamel Ibrahim and Mr. Khodair Al-Portsaidy.