Folio from the "Blue Qur'an"

Folio from the "Blue Qur'an"

Folio from the "Blue Qur'an"

Object Name:
    Folio from a non-illustrated manuscript
Date:
    second half 9th–mid-10th century
Geography:
    Made in Tunisia, possibly Qairawan
Medium:
    Gold and silver on indigo-dyed parchment
Dimensions:
    11 15/16 x 15 13/16 in. (30.4 x 40.2 cm)
Classification:
    Codices
Credit Line:
    Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 2004

This folio comes from a sumptuous, multivolume Qur'an with indigo pages and silver verse markers that was probably copied in North Africa. Its palette is thought to refer to the purple‑dyed, gilded manuscripts made in the neighboring Byzantine empire. As in other early Qur'ans, the script here is difficult to read because the letters have been manipulated to make each line the same length, and the marks necessary to distinguish between letters have been omitted.

Location : Metropolitan Museum of Art