Folio from a Qur’an; Frontispiece, sura 17:88

Folio within a bound Qur’an; recto: blank; verso: right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, Sura al-Isra, sura 17:88; shamsa (sunburst medallion) with floral motifs; Arabic in white naskh script; one of a group of 5 bound folios (F1932.66-70) from the manuscript (F1932.65); accessioned separately.
Border: the shamsa is set in an illuminated border on cream-colored paper.

Historical period(s)
Safavid period, 1598 (1006 A.H.)
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 42.1 x 30 cm (16 9/16 x 11 13/16 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1932.66
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
illumination, Iran, Islam, naskh script, Qur'an, Safavid period (1501 - 1722), shamsa, sura 17
Provenance

To 1932
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York to 1932 [1]

From 1932
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York in 1932 [2]

Notes:

[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note.

[2] See note 1. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Hagop Kevorkian 1872-1962

Description

Folio within a bound Qur'an; recto: blank; verso: right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, Sura al-Isra, sura 17:88; shamsa (sunburst medallion) with floral motifs; Arabic in white naskh script; one of a group of 5 bound folios (F1932.66-70) from the manuscript (F1932.65); accessioned separately.
Border: the shamsa is set in an illuminated border on cream-colored paper.

Inscription(s)

Sura al-Isra, sura17:88, central unit medallion, "say, if men and the djinn were to combine efforts to produce the likes of this Koran, [they would not be able]."

Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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