Omm Salmeh
b. 1801 · Tehran
Omm Salmeh, also called Golin Khanom and recorded as ʿIsmat Qajar in the Hadiqat al-shuʿara, was a daughter of Fath-ʿAli Shah Qajar by his Georgian wife Zibachehr Khanom, and a full sister of Muhammad ʿAli Mirza Dowlatshah. Fararu gives her birth in Tehran in 1216 AH (1801–02); her death date is not recorded in the sources found. She studied calligraphy with Aqa Zayn al-ʿAbidin Isfahani and with Hajj ʿAli Aqa, son of Muhammad ʿAli Khan Nazm al-Dawla, and became a skilled writer of naskh; she also illuminated and wrote poetry. Most of her known works are prayer books. The Malek National Library and Museum in Tehran keeps a Kitab al-duʿa of 1243 AH and a Duʿa al-sabah, together with single pages signed with her name. Mehr News and Persian Wikipedia also mention a Qur'an she wrote in 1302 AH, and other works in Golestan Palace, Mashhad, Karbala and Najaf. Her great-granddaughter Malekeh Jahan was the wife of Muhammad ʿAli Shah and the mother of Ahmad Shah.
Achievements
- A daughter of Fath-ʿAli Shah Qajar, known also as Golin Khanom and, in the Hadiqat al-shuʿara, as ʿIsmat; a calligrapher, illuminator and poet.
- Wrote a Kitab al-duʿa in naskh in 1243 AH (1827–28) on coloured paper, made for her brother Muhammad Taqi Mirza (Malek National Library and Museum).
- Wrote a Duʿa al-sabah in 1255 AH (1839–40) for Farrokh Mirza, nine lines to the page (Malek National Library and Museum).
- Persian Wikipedia and Mehr News list a Qur'an in naskh dated 1302 AH (1884–85).
- Further works are reported in the Golestan Palace library, Astan Quds Razavi and the shrines of Karbala and Najaf.
Taught by: Aqa Zayn al-ʿAbidin Isfahani, Hajj ʿAli Aqa, son of Muhammad ʿAli Khan Nazm al-Dawla
Her work
1243 AH (1827–28) per the museum record · Malek National Library and Museum, Tehran (no. 70)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
1238 AH (1823) · Malek National Library and Museum, Tehran
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Ramadan 1245 AH (1830) per the file title · Malek National Library and Museum, Tehran (1393.03.00009)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
19th century · Sold at Christie's (private collection)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
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
- Persian Wikipedia: Golin Khanom, Esmat in Hadiqat al-shu'ara, mother Zibachehr, teachers, Qur'an 1302 AH, descendants fa.wikipedia.org
- Mehr News: teachers, illumination, Kitab al-du'a 1243, Du'a al-sabah 1255, Qur'an 1302, collections mehrnews.com
- Fararu: born 1216 AH Tehran, commissions for Farrokh Mirza and Muhammad Taqi Mirza, Malek naskh nos. 58 and 70 fararu.com
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).