
During the week of November 21st 2022, the CallFront team had the pleasure of welcoming Elizabeth Lambourn, Professor of Material Histories at De Montford University, Leicester U.K. for a series of experimental sessions of writing on stone.[1]
For these sessions we focused on a series of specimens from Elizabeth Lambourn’s corpus, inscriptions on stone from Khambhat, Gujarat, dating from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries.[2] These inscriptions include cenotaphs, headstones, foundation inscriptions and certain architectural fragments, carved on marble for Muslim patrons.
Our point of departure for these experiments was the hypothesis that these inscriptions were perhaps written and designed directly on stone. The comparative rarity of paper or similar surfaces in late medieval Gujarat[3] as well as the scale of the inscription programs, would exclude the use of a pounce or model to transfer the calligraphy unto the final surface, as was possibly the case in other areas of the Islamicate world.
We proceeded with the clear premise that this is only a reconstruction of certain stages of the production process. Our aim was not to recreate a replica of the object, but rather to understand certain aspects of the writing process based on an experimental approach. We thus concentrated on the following questions: Is it possible to write on stone directly and produce an accurate model? If so, which tools and which ink would be used to write on marble and create the necessary outline for carvers to follow?

We based our study on four Cambay stone inscriptions held in Western institutions which could be easily accessible in case of further analysis: 1) David Collection 18/2015, 2) British Museum 1840,0302.1, 3) Khalili Collection MXD15, 4) Victoria and Albert Museum no. A12 1933. These institutions provide access to extremely high-resolution images which were printed to scale and used as models during the writing process.
Since this was our first experiment on stone, we decided not to limit ourselves to marble but to include granite as well, also used in other geographical areas that form part of the CallFront project, for example Fujian in China. We sourced slabs of broadly similar type from a French marble supplier, mostly varieties of white and pink marble and granite, with polished and non-polished surfaces.
The main consideration in choosing the ink was for the ink to be easily erasable, to be able to correct mistakes, and the consistency, for the tool to glide on the stone effortlessly and deposit the pigment smoothly. Ink recipes in Indian sources point to the use of lamp black,[4] as well as mineral pigments, such as red oxide. Our first experiments quickly revealed that the black soot ink was difficult to erase, and thus, while it provided an accurate clear stroke, was not a good option for an initial sketch. Other lighter pigments such as a mix of yellow oxide, gum arabic and water, provided equal results in terms of stroke accuracy. The oxide pigment revealed to be the best ally on the stone, leaving enough of a trace while being easily erasable once it had dried to powder.


Based on the presence of square points and the curvilinear nature of the writing, we experimented with a variety of tools that could recreate the effect of a calamus: bamboo, soft cane, leather, and soft model wood, all cut at a 35 degree angle. Soft wood or cane were the tools that performed best, the spongelike fibers absorbing the ink while providing enough grip to smoothly deposit the pigment on various surfaces and preserving the exterior and interior points of the calamus.
For the final trials we followed a similar procedure to those followed in Indian sculpture workshops,[5] first measuring the main layout with a compass, then making a light sketch with a piece of charcoal.[6] This allowed us to establish the main layout of each line, margins and proportions, being able to easily correct and adapt the length of the line. Once the main letter forms were in place, we then proceeded to write the detailed model, using the soft cane calamus with the light oxide pigment. The strokes left by the pigment allowed us to clearly define the letters, working on the final result directly on the stone, while always having a margin for corrections in case of mistakes. The entire process, working from basic measurements, to a general layout with charcoal, to precise detailed letter forms, was thus performed directly on the stone without the use of any accessory writing surface.

Next phases in the project will involve further experiments with ink consistencies and pigments, notably with red oxide or sindur[7] which were commonly used in paintings. Furthermore, a study of the layout proportions in headstones displaying similar epigraphic content, might reveal certain principles which underly the creative process itself. Indeed, the encouraging results of these initial experiments with ink, tools, and preparatory handwriting processes, invite us to pursue and expand our approach applied to Islamic epigraphy by moving on to the next stage, namely experimental stone carving.
Nuria Garcia Masip & Vincent Thérouin

[1] This was the result of a series of conversations between Elizabeth Lambourn and Nuria Garcia Masip which took place during the International Workshop on Recreative Practices in the Art and Humanities organized by Lambourn and held at De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K., on the 15 – 16 June 2022.
[2] For more details on this research see Elizabeth Lambourn, “Carving and communities: marble carving for Muslim communities at Khambhat and around the Indian Ocean rim (late 13th–mid-15th centuries CE).” Ars Orientalis 34 (2004): 101-35.
[3] See Masatoshi A. Konishi, Hāth-Kāghaz. History of Handmade Paper in South Asia, Shimla and New Delhi: Indian Institute of Advanced Study and Aryan Books International, 2013 and also discussion in Elizabeth Lambourn, “Some New Uses of the Geniza Mercantile Letter – On the Materiality of Writing in the Indian Ocean World.” In Fruit of Knowledge, Wheel of Learning: Essays in Honour of Professor Robert Hillenbrand, edited by Melanie Gibson, 158-79. London: Gingko Library, 2022.
[4] P. K. Gode. Studies in Indian Cultural History. Vol. III. Poona: B.O.R. Institute, 1969. p. 25, 31-47. At this first stage of experimentation we were not able to experiment with some of the vegetal pigments mentioned in traditional recipes such as the fruit and bark of myrobalans, notably chebulic myrobalans (Terminalia chebula) and the nut of the oriental cashew (Semecarpus anacardium).
[5] Fieldwork performed by Susana Marin in Hindu temple sculptor workshops some years ago confirmed that painters and sculptors were known to draw the first drawing directly on stone measuring all the proportions with a compass and drawing lines with charcoal. Susana Marin, The Living Tradition of Pahari Painting, PhD Dissertation, Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, London, 2015, p. 211-12.
[6] Recipes for charcoal or pencils used in the preliminary stages of painting point to “lampblack mixed with boiled rice made into a paste and then turned into pencil-chalks or crayons”, V.C. Ohri, The Technique of Pahari Painting, Delhi: Aryan Books International, 2002, p. 52
[7] Marin, p. 2011-12.
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
callfront (21 mars 2023). Exploring Recreative Practice Methodologies in Islamic Art – Writing on Stone at the Frontiers of the Islamicate World. CallFront. Consulté le 15 février 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/vq8f