Text in gold ink on blue-dyed parchment

It is thought the inspiration for this Qur'an arose from contact between the North African (Islamic) Fatimid dynasty and the Byzantines, who produced manuscripts copied in gold ink on parchment coloured with the dye Tyrian purple. This highly prized manuscript also features marginal devices in silver, though all are now badly tarnished (as in the one in the upper-right margin of this page).