In medieval Europe, it was employed in illuminated
manuscripts to symbolize the exalted station of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary,
with blue
ink used both to color their garments and to underline passages about them.
It includes her drawings made
with ink, pastels or coloured pencil, as well as the etchings that are among her earliest works and the original
manuscript of her handwritten book.
Images (left to right): Khusraw at Shirin's palace, miniature from a
manuscript of the Khamsa of Nizami, Tabriz (Persia), late 15th century,
ink and pigments on paper, The Keir Collection of Islamic Art on loan to the Dallas Museum of Art; Rock crystal ewer, Egypt, late 10th — 11th century, Fatimid, mounts by Jean - Valentin Morel, Sèvres (France), 1854, rock crystal
with enameled gold mounts, The Keir Collection of Islamic Art on loan to the Dallas Museum of Art; Textile fragment, Persia, c. 1600, Safavid, velvet, brocaded silk, and metal thread, The Keir Collection of Islamic Art on loan to the Dallas Museum of Art