Folio from a Qur’an, sura 5:12-13

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur’an; recto: Sura al- Ma’ida (the Table spread) 5: 12, recto begins with “wa amantum”; verso: sura 5:12 and part of 13, verso begins with “minkum”; Arabic in brown maghribi script; gold-knot verse marker; vocalized in green and yellow, diacritics in brown, tashdid and sukun in blue; one column; 7 lines of text; one of a group of 2 folios.

Historical period(s)
13th century
Medium
Ink, color and gold on parchment
Dimensions
H x W: 16.5 x 15.5 cm (6 1/2 x 6 1/8 in)
Geography
Southern Spain or North Africa
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1929.69
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
Islam, maghribi script, Near East, North Africa, Qur'an, Spain, sura 5
Provenance

To 1929
Kirkor Minassian (1874-1944), New York, New York. [1]

From 1929
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Kirkor Minassian, New York, New York. [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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Kirkor Minassian 1874-1944

Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; recto: Sura al- Ma'ida (the Table spread) 5: 12, recto begins with "wa amantum"; verso: sura 5:12 and part of 13, verso begins with "minkum"; Arabic in brown maghribi script; gold-knot verse marker; vocalized in green and yellow, diacritics in brown, tashdid and sukun in blue; one column; 7 lines of text; one of a group of 2 folios.

Label

Qur'ans in North Africa and Islamic Spain were written in a distinctive style known as maghribi, or Western script, which has undergone little stylistic change over time. Characterized by fluid lines and deep, open curves, the script was usually copied in brown or black ink, with diacritical marks applied in green, yellow, and red inks. Verse endings are often indicated by gold-knot designs that heighten the visual beauty of the page. Like other thirteenth-century maghribi Qur'ans, the text here is written on parchment, a medium that had been replaced by paper in the rest of the Islamic world.


The verses are from sura 5, al-Ma'ida ("Table-spread"), which addresses the observance of Islamic religious duties.

Published References
  • The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an. Cambridge Companions to Religion Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York. fig. 7.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 7, pp. 26-27.
  • Fu Shen, Glenn D. Lowry, Ann Yonemura, Thomas Lawton. From Concept to Context: Approaches to Asian and Islamic Calligraphy. Exh. cat. Washington. cat. 40, pp. 118-119.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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