Page from Arabic ManuscriptThe aesthetic appeal of Arabic calligraphy is easy to recognize in this page from a fourteenth-century manuscript. (Or Ms 161 fol.88v Abraham Destroys the Idols of the Sabians, from The Chronology of Ancient Nations by Al-Biruni, 1307 [gouache on paper], Islamic School [14th century]/Edinburgh University Library, Scotland/With kind permission of the University of Edinburgh/The Bridgeman Art Library)