naqshi

Naqshi is a term used in Persian and Urdu to denote design, pattern, or decorative art. It refers to the practice of designing and applying ornament to surfaces, including manuscripts, architecture, metalwork, textiles, and other decorative arts. The word comes from naqsh, meaning mark or pattern, with the suffix -i, forming an adjective or noun related to design. Variant transliterations include naqshī or naqshi.

Historically, naqashi encompassed a range of crafts within Persianate and South Asian art. In manuscript traditions, it related to illumination and decorative painting; in architecture and tilework it described the application of geometric and floral patterns; in metalwork and textiles it referred to surface ornamentation. Practitioners were known as naqshi or naqshi artists and were active across Iran, the Indian subcontinent, and the broader Ottoman world, contributing to the visual language of courts and religious spaces.

In modern usage, naqshi remains a general term for decorative painting and design. It also functions as a family name or nisba in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, reflecting historical association with craftspeople and designers.

The term is related to naqsh (pattern) and is part of a broader family of words referring to engraving, painting, and decorative design in Persianate languages.