H x W (overall): 28.8 x 18.6 cm (11 5/16 x 7 5/16 in)
Type:
Manuscript
Origin:
Anatolia, India?
Date:
14th-15th century
Period:
Delhi Sultanate period
Description:
Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; recto: Sura al-Ma'idah (the Table spread) 5:68, recto begins with "kathira"; verso: sura 5:68 and part of 69, verso begins with "falatas"; Arabic in black muhaqqaq script with gold floral border in kufic script and medallion in the corners; vocalized in black; interlinear Persian translation in black naskh; one column; three lines of text.
Border: The text is set in gold floral border with kufic script on a cream-colored paper.
Label:
Qur'ans were frequently transported from one part of the Islamic world to another, encouraging the dissemination of certain calligraphic styles and formats. This folio was originally part of a now dispersed, thirty-volume copy that was transcribed in an unusual hybrid script, referred to by scholars as "thuluth verging on muhaqqaq." The text, notable for the size of the script in relation to that of the folio, is framed with a kufic inscription set against a gold, floral scroll. While scholars generally agree that the kufic band was added in India, the origin of the text itself is less clear. On the basis of a number of other Qur'ans in a similar script and format, some specialists have attributed these folios to Anatolian Turkey, Iran, or Central Asia, while others have claimed that both the text and the borders were done in India. The three lines are from sura 5, "The Tablecloth."
Collection:
National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Imaging the Word: Selections of Calligraphy from the Islamic World (November 17, 1999 to May 7, 2000)