ʿABD-AL-VAHHĀB MAŠHADĪ, a calligrapher of the 10th/16th century who lived most of his life in Mašhad. His fame derives largely from his association with his uncle, Solṭān-ʿAlī Mašhadī (q.v.), who treated ʿAbd-al-Vahhāb as a son. Neither his birth nor his death dates are known, but Qāżī Aḥmad remarks that during his residence in Mašhad (ca. 965-74/1557-67) ʿAbd-al-Vahhāb was a man of eighty. At that time he wandered about the city dressed as a dervish carrying with him samples of his calligraphy which he showed to those he met, praising his own work (p. 95; tr., p. 138). Examples of ʿAbd-al-Vahhāb’s writing are found in albums now in Istanbul, including that formed by the noted calligrapher Aḥmad Mašhadī (Bayānī, Ḵošnevīsān II, pp. 421-42).
Bibliography: Given in the text.
(P. P. Soucek)
Originally Published: December 15, 1982
Last Updated: July 15, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. I, Fasc. 2, p. 170
P. P. Soucek, “Abd-Al-Vahhab Mashadi,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/2, p. 170; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abd-al-vahhab-mashadi-16th-century-calligrapher (accessed on 17 January 2014).
