Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Al-Qur’an al-Karim: Sacred Verses, Beautiful Pages

(from 8th Mar until 1st Jul 2012)

Discover the Qur’an as a source of artistic inspiration and expression in this selection of works on paper.

Detail of a page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq, naskhi, and kufic script, Iran or Turkey, 1200-1400 (Mus
Page from a large Qur’an in kufic scriptfront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

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Page from a large Qur’an in kufic script

  • Description

    Although severely damaged, this folio gives us a glimpse of the unique quality of the codex that once comprised it. The style in which it is written, characterized by a marked horizontal stretch in some letters (mashq), is one the most elegant renderings of kufic script, the angular style used for copying Qur'ans in the first centuries of Islam. The script on this page possesses a range of archaic features that have led scholars to associate the manuscript with an early date.

    This idea is also reinforced by the likelihood that the vowels and diacritical marks, which look rather inconsistent and irregular when compared to the disciplined and balanced execution of the consonants, were added at a later date.

  • Details

    show all
    Associated place
    Asia › Syria (possible place of creation)
    Date
    late 8th century - early 9th century AD
    Material and technique
    ink, colour, and gold on parchment
    Dimensions
    mount 34 x 41.5 cm (height x width)
    page 31 x 39.5 cm max. (height x width)
    Material index
    organic › animal › skin › parchment,
    processed material › parchment,
    processed material › metal › gold
    Technique index
    decorated › painted,
    painted,
    covered › coated › painted,
    marked › painted
    Object type index
    communications equipment › manuscript,
    religious/ritual equipment,
    visual representation › calligraphy,
    visual representation › painting
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Bequeathed by Ralph Pinder-Wilson, 2009.
    Accession no.
    EA2009.18

Glossary

kufic

  • kufic

    A term denoting various styles of angular Arabic script. Emerged in the early centuries of Islam, kufic soon became the preferred hand to copy holy texts.

Past Exhibition

see (1)

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Notice

Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.

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