Text Recognition and Identification of the Calligrapher of the Lost Inscription at the Forecourt of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

This article presents the process of text recognition of a lost inscription in the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and the identification of its calligrapher. This band of inscription which framed the entire forecourt was one of the most important elements of this mosque. Most segments of this inscription were damaged and destroyed before the first photographs were taken of the monument. Subsequently, the destroyed inscription was covered up with plaster and during the next restorations, tiles with vegetal designs replaced it.In this research, we have tried to read the text of this inscription and identify its calligrapher by reconstructing the pictures of this lost inscription from the few available historical photographs. This qualitative research is conducted with archaeological document analysis method and proceeds by library study, field study, and digital reconstruction. The findings show that the text of this inscription is a hadith known as the Hadith of Jabir. This research also shows that the calligrapher of this inscription was ‘Ali-Reza ‘Abbasi, a prominent and famous calligrapher of the Shah Abbas I era.