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Page from an illuminated Qur'an manuscript
Mamluk period
1360–1370
Object Place: Egypt or Syria
Medium/Technique
Ink, color and gold on paper
Dimensions
Height x width: 41.4 × 31.8 cm (16 5/16 × 12 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Maria Antoinette Evans Fund
Accession Number30.780.3
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAfrica and Oceania, Islamic Art
ClassificationsBooks and manuscripts
DescriptionSingle folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an. Recto: 5 lines of Arabic calligraphy in rayhani script written in gold and outlined in black ink; short vowel marks in blue ink; text set against a cream-colored background with a repeating black three-dot pattern; upper and lower illuminated panels, densely patterned and illuminated with octagonal cartouches outlined in green containing Arabic calligraphy in new style (eastern kufic) script written using white pigment and set against a blue background overlaid with a swirling vegetal pattern in gold; vertical panel on the left-hand side with an illuminated swirling vegetal pattern and delicately painted flowers in red, pink, and green; text set in an illuminated frame with interlacing strapwork and an outer border with fleur-de-lis in red and pink highlighted with blue and green pigment and an attached marginal medallion. Verso: 12 lines of Arabic calligraphy written in black ink; rosette verse markers with red and blue dots; illuminated rulings.
InscriptionsRecto - Sura 2 [al-Baqarah, "The Cow"], vv. 1-4
Verso - Sura 2 [al-Baqara, "The Cow"], vv. 5-13
Verso - Sura 2 [al-Baqara, "The Cow"], vv. 5-13