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

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.

Historical period(s)
Mamluk period, mid-14th century
Medium
Ink, color and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 41 x 31.8 cm (16 1/8 x 12 1/2 in)
Geography
Egypt
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1930.59
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 79, sura 80, thuluth script
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; 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.

Published References
  • Anna Contadini. The Kitab Manafi 'al Hayawan in the Escorial Library. no. 3. p. 48, no. 5.
  • Hayat Salam Liebich. L'Art Islamique: Bassin Mediterraneen. La Grammaire des Styles Paris. p. 61.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 42, pp. 98-99.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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