Folio from a Qur'an

Object Details

• Label

  This folio belongs to a Qur'an that was most likely commissioned by a high-ranking official of the Mamluk court in Egypt (1250-1517). The text is written in muhaqqaq, a script favoured in the fourteenth century for copying large Qur'ans. Characterized by slender verticals and powerful horizontals, muhaqqaq means "strongly expressed or realized." In contrast, the chapter headings, set in illuminated rectangles, are in thuluth, a script reserved for manuscript headings and inscriptions on buildings and portable objects. Illuminated rosettes mark the verse divisions.

• Provenance

  To 1930

  Kirkor Minassian, New York to 1930 [1]

  From 1930

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Kirkor Minassian, New York in 1930 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Object file, undated folder sheet note.

  [2] See note 1. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  Untitled Exhibition, Persian and Near Eastern Art (May 5, 1933 to September 24, 1947)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Kirkor Minassian (1874-1944)

• Origin

  Egypt

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Manuscript

• On View

  Freer Gallery 03: Engaging the Senses

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  Minassian, Kirkor

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Sura 98, Art, Sura 97, Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), Sura 96, Sura 95, Sura 94, Arts of the Islamic World, Illumination, Qur'an

• Culture

  Muslims

• Language

  Thuluth script, Muhaqqaq script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts

• On View

  Yes