Painted, gold and silver on indigo dyed paper (natural pigments). 370 mm x 370 mm (14.5 x 14.5 ins).

A study in geometry. Ruled lines of pure gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper build up a twelve pointed star which grows exponentially from the centre.

The word 'Shamsa' derives from the Arabic word for the sun. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it became a customary device for the opening pages of royal manuscripts in Safavid Iran and Mughal India. Traditionally the centre is left as a plain gold disc, representing the singularity from which all emerges.