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Manuscript/Mixed Material Qur'an carpet page

About this Item

Title

  • Qur'an carpet page

Created / Published

  • 14th century

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Egypt
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Thuluth

Notes

  • -  In Thuluth script, an example of a Qur'an opening page.
  • -  All or parts of these five verses appear on decorative carpet pages intended to begin the Qur'an or to separate various parts (sing. juz', pl. ajza') of the Holy Book. They remind the reader of the sacred character of the Qur'an, while providing an artistic, visual break from the text per se. For a similar use of these verses on a carpet page dividing a juz', see 1-87-154.151 R.
  • -  And that is indeed a mighty urging if you but knew, / That this is indeed a Glorious Qur'an / In a Well-Guarded Book, / Which none shall touch but those who are clean: / A revelation from the Lord of the Worlds
  • -  Dimensions of illumination: 14.9 (w) x 14.3 (h) cm
  • -  The decorative patterns and palette of this carpet page are typical of 14th-century Mamluk Qur'ans made in Egypt (see Lings 2004, pls. 40 and 124; and Lings and Safadi 1976: no. 75 and pl. IX). In this case, the centerpiece consists of a hexagon prolonged to form alternating gold and blue polygons and four eight-pointed stars in each corner of the rectangular frame. The lines creating the forms, just like the inscriptions, are executed in white ink, although the white ink has oxidized on the second carpet page (see 1-89-154.168 R). The polygons alternate between gold designs on a blue ground and a blue design on a gold ground, while the eight-pointed stars contain palmette and bulb-like gold motifs on a blue ground. Around the edge of the panel, the border consists of interlacing gold zigzags that end in a marginal anse that is almost entirely lost today.
  • -  This folio contains an opening carpet page of a Qur'an. It is the first of five folios belonging to a dispersed Qur'an manuscript now held in the collections of the Library of Congress. The other four folios are: 1-88-154.168 R and V, and 1-88-154.8b R and V. Together with 1-89-154.168 R, this folio constitutes the double-page illuminated frontispiece of a beautiful, albeit damaged, 14th-century Mamluk Qur'an.
  • -  This folio contains verses 76-78 of the 56th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Waqi'ah (The Inevitable), contained in the top and bottom rectangular panels of the double-page illuminated frontispiece. Folio 1-89-154.168 R continues the inscription with verses 56:79-80. All four verses introduce the Qur'an as a blessed and precious book revealed by God, which must be touched only by those who are pure both physically and psychologically. The verses go as follows:
  • -  Script: thuluth
  • -  1-87-154.8a

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 23.5 (w) x 28.5 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714479

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Qur'an Carpet Page. 14th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714479/.

APA citation style:

Qur'an Carpet Page. 14th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714479/.

MLA citation style:

Qur'an Carpet Page. 14th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714479/>.