Folio from the "Tashkent Qur'an"

Folio from the "Tashkent Qur'an"

Folio from the "Tashkent Qur'an"

Object Name:
    Folio from a non-illustrated manuscript
Date:
    late 8th–early 9th century
Geography:
    Attributed to Syria or North Africa
Medium:
    Ink on parchment
Dimensions:
    Page H. 21 5/8 x 27 9/16 in. (55 x 70 cm)
Classification:
    Codices
Credit Line:
    Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 2004

Magnificent in size, this folio comes from one of the oldest surviving Qur'an manuscripts in existence. It is written in an early version of the kufic script with no diacritical marks to distinguish the letters, and with very limited illumination. Based on the form of the script, and the illuminations that do survive on other pages from this Qur'an, the book has been attributed to Cairo, Egypt; Damascus, Syria; or Sana'a, Yemen. About one third of the original manuscript is housed in the Hast-Imam Library in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Location : Metropolitan Museum of Art