A FOLIO FROM QURAN MANUSCRIPT IN KUFIC SCRIPT, ATTRIBUTED TO CENTRAL ISLAMIC EMPIRE, 8TH CENTURY

This Quran folio is written in black ink in early Kufic script on paper, surah Al-Isra (Th night journey), Chapter 17, verses from 17-46, 18 lines. The manuscript without any vocalizations or dots. One side fainted according to the age and dampness. 14.5 by 18.5 cm.

CATALOGUE NOTE The tradition of dyed manuscripts developed in Byzantium for making valuable books, such as the Gospels. The technique continued into the early Islamic period, with the Blue Quran as its most spectacular manifestation. Tinted pages were used only in the most luxurious manuscripts. A regular script completed in plain ink. This folio can be dated to the early Islamic period thanks to its simple Kufic calligraphy. This script lacks the vowels or diacritical marks typical of the later, more developed written form of Arabic. A similar example found in The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, accession Number: 40.164.1a