Page from an illuminated Qur'an manuscript

Calligrapher: Shadhi ibn Muhammad ibn Ayyub (1282–1342)
Illuminator: Aydughdi ibn 'Abdallah al-Badri (Mamluk, active about 1304–1335)
Illuminator: 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Rassam al-A'sar (Mamluk)

Mamluk Sultanate

January 15, 1314 / 27 Ramadan 713

Object Place: Cairo, Egypt

Medium/Technique Ink, lapis lazuli and gold on paper

Dimensions Height x width: 34.5 × 26 cm (13 9/16 × 10 1/4 in.)

Credit Line Arthur Mason Knapp Fund

Accession Number39.793

NOT ON VIEW

CollectionsAfrica and Oceania, Islamic Art

ClassificationsBooks and manuscripts

DescriptionSingle folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; 11 lines of Arabic calligraphy in nask script written in gold and outlined in black ink on both the recto and verso; blue and gold diacritical and vocalization marks; illuminated interlocking verse markers with blue dots; a round blue and gold medallion in the outer margin inscribed with the word 'ashr (ten) marks every tenth verse and an illuminated teardrop outlined in blue and inscribed with the word khamsa (five) marks every fifth verse.

InscriptionsRecto - Sura 33 [al-Ahzab, "The Confederates"], vv. 9-17
Verso - Sura 33 [ Al-Azhab, "The Confederates"], vv. 17-24

Provenance1939, sold by Kirkor Minassian (d. 1944), New York, to the MFA for $250.00. (Accession Date: December 14, 1939)