Muthanna/Mirror Writing in Islamic Calligraphy: History, Theory, and Aesthetics

Muthanna, or mirror writing, is a style of Islamic calligraphy that combines a source text with its mirror image arranged symmetrically along a horizontal or vertical axis. The style works with various scripts including Kufic, naskh, and muhaqqaq, using compositional techniques such as doubling, superimposing, and stacking. Examples of muthanna appear across diverse media—architecture, textiles, tiles, paper, metalwork, and woodwork—and the form has been practiced for centuries across regions from Iran to Spain. Despite its long history and widespread use, scholarly study of muthanna has been limited and incomplete. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the form, beginning with an explanation of the visual principles and techniques involved in its creation. Esra Akin-Kivanç explores muthanna's relationship to similar mirrored writing practices in Judaic and Christian traditions, as well as the specifically Islamic contexts in which symmetrically mirrored compositions developed, acquired new meanings, and became more visually complex. The study examines the perspective of the artist, viewer, and artwork itself, exploring the connections between outward form and inner meaning in Islamic calligraphy.