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
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The Qur’an and the ‘six scripts’

Al-Aqlam al-Sitta: Qur’ans from the 13th until the 17th century

The progressive adoption of paper across the Islamic world during the 10th century had a major impact on the way in which Qur’ans were copied. The format changed from horizontal to vertical, and the smoother surface of the new medium encouraged calligraphers to experiment with more rounded scripts.

Used mainly for secular purposes, cursive scripts replaced kufic as a result of the revolutionary changes introduced by Ibn Muqla (died AD 940), a vizier of the Abbasid court. Ibn Muqla selected six cursive styles, known as al-aqlam al-sitta (naskhi, muhaqqaq, rayhani, thuluth, riqa‘ and tawqi‘), for which he determined specific geometric proportions. In each script, the letters had a fixed proportional relation to the first letter of the Arabic alphabet (alif), whose length determined the diameter of the circle used to shape their form. The result was a visually more balanced and harmonious presentation.

These proportioned scripts were later refined by two other illustrious calligraphers, Ibn al-Bawwab (died AD 1022) and Yaqut al-Musta‘simi (died c. 1298), who increased the elegance of each style by devising alternative ways to cut the reed pen, the chief instrument of the calligrapher.

Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq, naskhi, and kufic script (EA2012.69) Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq, naskhi, and kufic script (EA2012.69)   Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq and thuluth script (EA2012.58) Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq and thuluth script (EA2012.58)   Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq script (EA1993.394) Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq script (EA1993.394)
Frontispiece from a 30-volume Qur’an in naskhi, thuluth, and tawqi‘ script (EA2012.71) Frontispiece from a 30-volume Qur’an in naskhi, thuluth, and tawqi‘ script (EA2012.71)   Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq script (EA2012.59) Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq script (EA2012.59)   Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq script (EA2012.57) Page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq script (EA2012.57)
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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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