Quitabat or Calligraphy is practiced in Lucknow by skilled calligraphers since centuries. The art was first brought to India by Turkish Sultans in 1200 AD. Many examples of unparalleled calligraphy can be found from this period where several Persian and Arabic texts were reproduced and illustrated in Iranian styles, incorporating Indian elements. Tughra, a complex and stylized calligraphic style was used by Turkish sultans as their monographs. Tools such as brushes, reed pens/bet muishk, agate for burnishing and fixing colours, jade for mixing gold foil and paint and opal for burning are used by the calligraphers.
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