Baghdad’s Verses Monument

The Baghdad’s Verses Monument is considered one of the most prominent modern artworks in the capital, Baghdad.

It was created by the renowned Iraqi sculptor Mohammad Ghani Hikmat and unveiled in 2013 as part of the final series of works commissioned to him by the Mayor of Baghdad in 2010, within a broad cultural project to beautify the city.

The monument is a copper fountain with an oval shape, standing five meters high including its base.

The artwork is composed of a cluster of Arabic letters and words taken from a poem by the Iraqi poet Mustafa Jamal Al Din, titled “Baghdad Is Stronger Than You”.

The letters are gathered and compressed in an artistic manner to form a golden spherical structure floating in the center of the fountain giving the impression that the words have transformed into a celestial body suspended above the water.

Within the composition, observers can read the famous poetic line:

Baghdad, whenever the ages clashed upon you,

they withered while the leaf of your life stayed green.

This work represents a distinguished example of sculpture inspired by the Hurufiyya movement.

Although Hurufiyya is often associated with painting and book art, it has extended to ceramics and sculpture as well. This monument stands as a notable example of the movement, with Arabic letters molded through pressure and transformation to form a cohesive visual body that embodies the beauty and spirit of Arabic calligraphy.

Unlike many public landmarks in Baghdad that were subjected to looting or damage after 2003, this monument survived and preserved both its beauty and artistic significance standing as a testament to the endurance of culture and aesthetic expression amid challenging circumstances.