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Qur’an

17 Ramadan 599 AH (30 May 1203 CE)

The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar

The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
Doha, Qatar

This manuscript is considered the earliest known complete Qur'an with the entire text copied in gold ink. The text is written in black-outlined gold thuluth. Although the pages have a very dense visual appearance with 15 lines of text arranged in a small area of 10.2 x 6.7 cm, the overall look results well-balanced and aesthetically pleasing thanks to the calligrapher's mastery in balancing the flow of the black outline with the golden lettering. The margins contain illuminated markers and notes. Groups of ten and five verses are marked by large roundels inscribed with Arabic letters and palmettes, rectangular inscribed panels indicate the major text divisions. Lavishly illuminated carpet pages open and close the manuscript.

The small format of this Qur'an would have made it a sort of luxurious "pocketbook", easy to transport and consult.
The colophon gives us the name of the master calligrapher and the date of completion for this manuscript but does not mention the patron. However, due to its precious appearance, we can assume that this Qur'an was made for the personal use of a very wealthy patron or a court member, perhaps even a prince, possibly in northern Jazeera, a region renowned for its production of finely illuminated manuscripts under the Ayyubids and then the Mamluks.

Details

  • Title: Qur’an
  • Date Created: 17 Ramadan 599 AH (30 May 1203 CE)
  • Location Created: Iraq
  • Type: Manuscript
  • Rights: © The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha
  • Medium: Paper, Ink, Gold, Cloth, Leather
  • Text Credit: Nicoletta Fazio
  • Size: H13.8 x W11.2 x D5 cm
  • Period: Abbasid
  • Object ID: MS.621.2007
  • Image Credit: The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

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