Detached folio from a Qur’an, sura 9:128-129; sura 113:1-5; sura 114:1-6

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur’an; right-hand half recto: Sura al-Falaq (the Daybreak) 113:1-5, Sura al-Nas (the Mankind) 114:1-6, completion prayers; Arabic in black and white muhaqqaq script, gold titles in thuluth script; inalienable endowment (waqf); standard page: one column, 11 lines of text; right-hand half verso: finispiece; Sura al-Tawba (the Repentance) 9:128; Arabic in white kufic script; left-hand half recto: finispiece; Sura al-Tawba (the Repentance) 9:129; Arabic in white kufic script; left-hand half verso: completion prayers; Arabic in black and gold muhaqqaq script; standard page: one column, 12 lines of text; one of a group of five folios.
Border: The text is set in gold and black rulings on cream-colored paper.

Historical period(s)
Mamluk period, mid 14th century
Medium
Ink, color and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 40.9 x 64 cm (16 1/8 x 25 3/16 in)
Geography
Egypt
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1930.55.1-2
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
Egypt, illumination, Islam, Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), muhaqqaq script, Qur'an, sura 113, sura 114, sura 9
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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Kirkor Minassian 1874-1944

Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; right-hand half recto: Sura al-Falaq (the Daybreak) 113:1-5, Sura al-Nas (the Mankind) 114:1-6, completion prayers; Arabic in black and white muhaqqaq script, gold titles in thuluth script; inalienable endowment (waqf); standard page: one column, 11 lines of text; right-hand half verso: finispiece; Sura al-Tawba (the Repentance) 9:128; Arabic in white kufic script; left-hand half recto: finispiece; Sura al-Tawba (the Repentance) 9:129; Arabic in white kufic script; left-hand half verso: completion prayers; Arabic in black and gold muhaqqaq script; standard page: one column, 12 lines of text; one of a group of five folios.
Border: The text is set in gold and black rulings on cream-colored paper.

Label

Many fourteenth-century Qur'ans include sumptuously illuminated double-page frontispieces, finispieces (end folios), and chapter headings that often combine floral motifs, geometric designs, and intricate arabesques. By this time, calligraphers favored a variety of cursive scripts for the body of the Qur'an, while the earlier kufic script was explored for its decorative qualities and primarily reserved for heading. Here, it is used for an ending--the last two verses of sura 9, known as Repentance.

Published References
  • Anna Contadini. The Kitab Manafi 'al Hayawan in the Escorial Library. no. 3. p. 48, no. 6.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 41, pp. 96-97.
  • Muhammad Husayn. Origins of the Book: Egypt's Contribution to the Development of the Book from Papyrus to Codex. Greenwich, Connecticut. p. 110.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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