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NOTES ET DOCUMENTS - NOTA'S EN DOCUMENTEN 219
The main problem however was Ilot to establish whether spirals
were used or not as ornaments on coins but to find out if these spirals
served as a basic constructive element for the calligrapher. This problem
is far more difficult to solve.
A first question that has to be answered concerns the spiral itself.
Is it a geometrically correct constructed spiral or is it a spiral
shaped motive that only serves to fill the blanks in a calligraphie
composition? In the last case the spiral can't he considered as a
constructive element in the artistic composition of the legend since
it is added only after the calligraphy has been completed. For a
series of coins with a fairly visible spiral motive we reconstructed a
geometrically correct spiral and compared it to the spiral actually
depicted on the coin. The result of this small investigation - about
50 coins were stuc1ied -was very encouraging since in all cases studied
the spiral motive followed very closely the geometrical spiral and
if in sorne cases deviations were found these could be explained without
basic difficulties (7).
A next step was to find more proof to support the initial hypothesis.
We tried to discover what was first: the ornamental spiral or the
calligraphied Iegend ? \Ve are quite well aware of the fact that the
Humber of coins we studied is tao small to allow any final conclusion
but sorne details are nevertheless remarkable. The tracé of the
ornamental spiral is compulsory, since it is, as we saw already constructed
in a geometrically correct way. It does not allow any serious
deviation without disrupting the fixed pattern. And if on the other
hand we see that the tracé of the calligraphy closely follows that of
the spiral one is forced to admit that the legend was composed accordingly
the ornamental spiral. One of the most striking examples
of coins on which the tracé of the calligraphy closely Iollows the spiral
pattern is the (ob verse of the) remarkable multiple ashrafi struck at
Isfahan in the year 1135 A.H. (8). In this case hardly any doubt can
subsist. Ii seems obvious that the calligrapher took the spiral as a
starting point from which he started developing the inscription (see
ills.).
We realize that the material studied may Ilot have been representative
for the totality of the Safavid coinage but ''le think that in the
future the following working hypothesis will give a sound stimulus
to the study of the aesthetics of Persian and Indian coinage durîng
the l1th and 12th century A.H.: calligraphers or engravers used
regularly geometrically construcieâ spirals as an aid for composing
(7) On sorne coins the motive, aîter a srnall deviation returns to its « original 0
pattern which proves weil enough that the motive does not just fin up the
empty spaces as a result of sorne supposed horror oacui.
(8) F ARAl-IBAIŒSH, op. cil., p. 46 calls il a 10 asbrafi coin. He fails ta indlcate
that the coin illustrated in his îlgnre 156 is the one of the Cabinet. des Méd~PJes
at Paris.