Folio from a Qur'an

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Shadhi ibn Muhammad ibn Ayyub

• Description

  Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; recto: Sura al-Sajdah (the Prostration) 32:1-9 and part of 10, one column, 10 lines of text; verso: sura 32: 10-20 and a few phrases of 21, one column, 11 lines of text; Arabic in gold naskhi script outlined in black; heading in gold floriated kufic script on a blue ground; illuminated verse markers; marginal medallions; vocalized in gold and blue; one of a group of 2 folios.

• Label

  By the fourteenth century, the main text of the Qur'an was written exclusively in one of several cursive scripts, while the angular, or kufic, style was reserved primarily for the chapter headings. Among the most popular Qur'anic scripts was naskh, which was admired particularly in fourteenth century Egypt for its legibility and fluidity. This sumptuous, detached folio is from a copy of the Qur'an executed in gold naskh and outlined in black; the script tends to be densely packed with equal balance given to the vertical and horizontal strokes. Prominent medallions indicate the verse endings, while the new chapter heading, written in elegant kufic, is set in a cartouche at the top. According to its colophon, the manuscript was copied for Nasir al-Din Muhammad, the Mamluk ruler of Egypt and Syria (reigned 1294-95, 1299-1309, 1309-40).

• Provenance

  To 1938

  Kirkor Minassian (1874-1944), New York. [1]

  From 1938

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

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

• 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)

  From Concept to Context: Approaches to Asian and Islamic Calligraphy (July 28, 1986 to February 6, 1987)

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

  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

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  Minassian, Kirkor

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Sura 32, Kufic script, Art, Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), Arts of the Islamic World, Illumination, Qur'an

• Culture

  Muslims

• Object Type

  Manuscripts