Folio from a Qur'an, sura 79:7-39; sura 80:1-19

Object Details

• Description

  Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; recto: Sura al-Nazi'at (Those who drag forth) 79:7-39, one column,12 lines of text; verso: Sura al-Nazi'at (Those who drag forth) 79:40-46, Sura Abasa (He frowned), 80:1-19, verso begins with "waw amma man", one columne,10 lines; Arabic in black and gold muhaqqaq script with white heading in thuluth script; illuminated rosette verse markers; vocalized in black and red; illuminated title band; one of a group of 5 folios.

  Border: The text is set in gold and black rulings on cream-colored paper.

• Label

  By the thirteenth century, a number of more cursive writing styles had replaced kufic as the preferred scripts for the Qur'an. One of the most prevalent such scripts was muhaqqaq, notable for its tall, slender verticals and sweeping sublinear strokes. The other popular cursive script was thuluth, reserved primarily for monumental inscriptions on objects, buildings, and chapter headings as is evident here.

  The page on view includes verses from two chapters, al-Nazi`at (Those Who Drag Forth) and Abasa (He Frowned) that occur towards the end of the Qur'an. The first reminds Muslims of the coming of the Day of Judgment, while the second sura cautions against judging people by their appearance.

• 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)

  Islamic Art (May 9, 1993 to June 3, 1997)

  Art of the Mamluks (May 14, 1981 to May 25, 1982)

  Art of the Arab World (May 8, 1975 to August 20, 1977)

  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

• 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.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s, 1300s

• Name

  Minassian, Kirkor

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Art, Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), Arts of the Islamic World, Sura 80, Illumination, Qur'an, Sura 79

• Culture

  Muslims

• Language

  Thuluth script, Muhaqqaq script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts