Two years ago, I received a request from the editor of the “Encyclopedia of World Calligraphy” to contribute to an upcoming edition by drawing samples of Armenian script. I was told that they needed all four major scripts executed with sequence of strokes (the direction of writing). For over three months, I spent my nights drawing letters, digging out anything I could find on my bookshelf, only to discover that calligraphy as a discipline was a rare find in the rich legacy of Armenian culture. How could it be, I asked myself, that we have so little written about it? We have studies of paleography (the science of writing) but practically nothing on calligraphy (the art of writing).
calligraphy in the Armenian tradition is certainly one of the least explored and studied areas. What was different about us?
