TEHRAN – The 81-year-old calligrapher Gholam-Hossein Amirkhani has been selected as a Living Human Treasure.

The decision to honor the celebrated artist with the title was made on February 18, 2020, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts (MCHTH) announced on Sunday.

Amirkhani, who is the director of the Iran Calligraphers Association, was decorated with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in March 2017.

He learned the nastaliq style of Persian calligraphy from Seyyed Hossein Mirkhani and his brother Seyyed Hassan, two unparalleled masters of Persian calligraphy. 

Amirkhani is one of the few Persian calligraphers who has shown great skill in this style. Numerous calligraphers consider him as the best living calligrapher of this style.     

Amirkhani is the third figure selected as a Living Human Treasure.

Veteran translator Najaf Daryabandari, who was also the writer of a bestselling cookbook, was honored with the title in 2017. He died in May at the age of 91.

Dotar maker Zolfaqar Beitaneh from South Khorasan Province was selected as a Living Human Treasure in March.

Photo: Master calligrapher Gholam-Hossein Amirkhani attends a ceremony held at the Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum in Tehran on February 3, 2017 to celebrate his 77th birthday. (Tehran Picture Agency/Ahmad Aghasiani)

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