Mubarakshah ibn Qutb
d. 1358
Mubarakshah ibn Qutb, called Zarrin Qalam ('golden pen'), was a calligrapher of the 8th century AH (14th century CE); Persian sources give him the nisba Tabrizi. The Walters Art Museum and Persian sources count him among the pupils of Yaqut al-Musta'simi. Persian sources say he wrote naskh and the other scripts of the six, that his dated works reach 730 AH, and that he died around 760 AH. His best-documented work is a small Qur'an in naskh, signed and dated Sha'ban 723 AH (1323), now Walters manuscript W.559 in Baltimore; its colophon gives his name and the date. A Persian interlinear translation in red was added later. Encyclopaedia Iranica records that Pir Yahya al-Sufi of Shiraz was reputedly his pupil, which places him in the line that carried Yaqut's manner into Iran.
Achievements
- Called Zarrin Qalam, 'golden pen'.
- Counted among the six pupils of Yaqut al-Musta'simi (Walters Art Museum).
- Signed and dated a naskh Qur'an in Sha'ban 723 AH (1323), now Walters W.559 in Baltimore.
- Reputedly taught Pir Yahya al-Sufi of Shiraz (Encyclopaedia Iranica).
- Persian sources say he also left works in the other five of the six scripts.
Taught by: Yaqut al-Musta'simi
Taught: Pir Yahya al-Sufi (Yahya al-Jamali al-Sufi)
His work
1323 · Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
1323 · Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
1323 · Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
1323 · Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
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Write in this tradition now →Living calligraphers you can buy from — signed originals on paper, from AED 550: Anwar Alhulwani (Thuluth) · Ahmed Alhawary (Jali Thuluth, Naskh) · Rasha Kasim (Kufi) — or every Naskh piece the store makes: Naskh collection.
Sources
- identity wikidata.org
- W.559: signed and dated Sha'ban 723/1323, epithet zarrin qalam, one of six pupils of Yaqut, colophon transliteration, naskh, Arabic name مباركشاه بن قطب thedigitalwalters.org
- nisba Tabrizi, pupil of Yaqut, works in the six scripts, works to 730, died c. 760 AH (Fazaeli) fa.wikipedia.org
- Mobarakshah b. Qotb (Zarrin Qalam) as reputed teacher of Pir Yahya iranicaonline.org
- W.559 dated 723/1323; illuminator possibly Ibrahim al-Amidi (D. James) craftsofiraq.uvic.ca
Written by the MASHQ studio · last updated 2026-10-05. Further reading, the standard references in English: Sheila S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) · Annemarie Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York University Press, 1984) · Yasin Hamid Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy (Thames and Hudson, 1978).