Munajat Qur'an (Book of prayers)

Object Details

• Description

  Manuscript; Munajat Qur'an (Book of prayers); text: Arabic in black, white and gold naskh script with illuminated headings in muhaqqaq script; vocalized in black; 53 folios with 2 sarlawhs (fols. 1, 2 verso) and gold rosette verse markers; standard page: one column, 9 lines of text.

  Binding: The manuscript is bound in red leather over paper pasteboards with embossed tooling and corner-pieces. The envelope flap has a border identical to that on the upper and lower covers. The doublures have a central scalloped medallion and corner-pieces.

• Provenance

  ?-by at least 1937

  Elizabeth T. Riefstahl (1889-1986), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  From 1937

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Elizabeth T. Riefstahl (1889-1986) [2]

  Notes:

  [1] See object files for copies of letters from Elizabeth Riefstahl to J.E. Lodge, dated April 16, 1937, April 21, 1937, April 28, 1937, and June 4, 1937; and letters from J.E. Lodge to Elizabeth Riefstahl, dated 19 April, 1937, June 1, 1937, and June 5, respectively, regarding manuscripts which the Freer Gallery of Art may wish to buy from the Riefstahl collection.

  See also May 4, 1937 Freer Gallery of Art note in object file acknowledging receipt of manuscripts from Elizabeth Riefstahl, for examination by Lodge. Elizabeth Titzel Riefstahl was an international journalist who traveled independently through the Near East during the 1920s. She married academic and scholar Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl (1880-1936) in 1924 and the two traveled extensively overseas, and jointly published several monographs. Following Rudolf’s death in 1936, Elizabeth worked at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, first as Librarian and then as Assistant Curator for Ancient Art. The couple were well-regarded art historians and collectors of Islamic and Near Eastern art.

  [2] See copy of Elizabeth T. Riefstahl invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, June 5th, 1937, and approved on June 1, 1937, in object file.

  Research updated January 30, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Turkish Art—Special Exhibition (August 1 to December 19, 1973)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Elizabeth Titzel Riefstahl (1889-1986)

• Origin

  Turkey

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1600s

• Name

  Riefstahl, Elizabeth Titzel

• Topic

  Art, Ottoman period (1307 - 1922), Arts of the Islamic World, Illumination, Qur'an, Prayer

• Culture

  Muslims, Turks

• Language

  Naskh script, Muhaqqaq script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts