Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript

Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript

Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript

Object Name:
    Folio from a non-illustrated manuscript
Date:
    ca. 1180
Geography:
    Attributed to Eastern Iran or present-day Afghanistan
Medium:
    Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions:
    H. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm)
    W. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm)
Classification:
    Codices
Credit Line:
    H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Horace Havemeyer, 1929

This folio from a dispersed Qur'an exemplifies the transition during the Seljuq period from Qur'ans written in kufic script on parchment to those copied in the more rounded new-style writing on paper. By the late twelfth century, the practitioners of the new style had perfected its mannered, slightly eccentric forms. As seen here, these include the extreme elongation of tall letters and the ellipse formed by combining two of these letters, lam and alif.

Location : Metropolitan Museum of Art