Folio from the multivolume Qur’ān manuscript known as the “Blue Qur’ān”, with gold and silver on indigo-dyed parchment, Kufic script with omitted diacritical and voweling marks and minimalist ornamentation, from Tunisia, probably from the Great Mosque of Qairawan, circa second half 9th c mid-10th c. Several scholars have suggested dates for the Blue Qur’an, ranging from the 9th to the mid-10th c, and attributed it to either Qairawan in Tunisia (because of the particular system of abjad numbering in this illuminated manuscript and a description of a manuscript having the same specifications was found in an inventory in the Mosque of Qairawan in A.H. 693/1293 A.D), or Cordoba in Al-Andalus, Umayyad Spain. Like most Qur’ān manuscripts from the 8th through the 10th c, it is distinguished by the use of parchment, a horizontal format, and the kufic script. The only decoration found on many of these pages consists of the circular silver marks that separate each verse (now almost entirely oxidized and faded). The art of gold lettering on dyed vellum or parchment (this art most likely came from the Christian Byzantine Empire) is luxurious and rare, which means this manuscript could have been commissioned by the caliph himself or a wealthy patron. Experts have stated that the verses on the pages shown in this post are from Surah Ar-Rūm (The Byzantine Empire, or The Byzantines, or The Greeks) 30:24-32. Although I personally love this manuscript so much for various reasons, I can barely read the entire lines displayed here (despite my Arabic native level and the fact I do read the Qur’ān fast), this Kufic script is difficult to read because the letters have been manipulated to make each line the same length. Notes from my research / on view and picture courtesy The Met Museum.

Illuminated bifolio of Dala’il al Khayrāt, feat. two illustrations of the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah in a two dimensional style, copied in Kashmir in 1808, Arabic manuscript, opaque watercolour, gold, and ink on paper. Some of the characteristics of Kashmiri Dala’il al Khayrāt copies are the rich palette, intricate details, rectangular fields and a concentric composition (such as the keyhole motif enclosing the Kaaba). For Madinah an emphasis on the minbar, the three tombs (Prophet’s ﷺ tomb and two of his companions a.s), the lower tomb of Prophet’s daughter Fatima (as), the palm tree which she planted when her father was alive. Dala’il al Khayrāt is a popular prayer book in praise of the Prophet ﷺ compiled by Al-Jazuli (Abu AbdAllah Muhammad Ibn Suleiman Ibn Abi Bakr Al-Jazuli Al-Simlali, also known as Sheikh Jazuli or Imam Jazuli, a Berber Sufi mystic from the Berber tribe of Jazula, Morocco, born in Sous, died in Ribat Sidi Chiker 1404 - 1465). Al-Jazuli studied in Madrassa As-Saffarīn in Fes, he then lived in Makkah, Madinah and Jerusalem, before returning to Fes where he completed the prayer book. Kashmir’s art of illumination and illustration, their attention (to the littlest details) to everything re: Islam and Prophet ﷺ within their arts and crafts, their colour palette are quite exceptional. Kashmir was a major art center, their artisans and artists have inspired other artists, artisans, and illustrators beyond the subcontinent. Notes from my research / picture courtesy Christie’s.

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#mecca #madinah #kashmir #kashmiri #kashmiriart #kashmiris #dalailalkhayrat #manuscript #manuscripts #illuminatedmanuscript #illuminatedmanuscripts #aljazuli #sufism #sufi #sufis #islam #prophetmuhammad #prophetmuhammadﷺ #illustration #illustrations #bookofprayers #bookofkhidr #southasianart #southasianartist #southasianartists #arabicmanuscript

#مكة #مكة_المكرمة #المدينة_المنورة

Qur’ān folio from Spain, 13th century, on pink dyed paper with brown maghribi script, gold diacritics outlined in black, shadda diacritic (ـّ) used in the Arabic script to indicate gemination of a consonant and sukun diacritic (ـْ‎) used in the Arabic script to mark the absence of a vowel both in blue, hamzah (ء) letter in yellow and green, two gold and black roundel verse markers containing abjad numbers in red and blue, a gold and polychrome medallion with red kufic marking khams, the upper margin with punched inventory inscription (the system used for vocalisation, orthography and pointing). Maghribi script (الخط المغربي) was employed in Al-Andalus (Muslim Andalusia), Maghrib (Morocco), Algeria, and Tunisia. Manuscripts on peach-pink dyed paper are believed to have been produced in Jativa, near Valencia, the site of the earliest documented paper mill in Spain (Fraser and Kwiatkowski, 2006, p.64). A number of folios from this manuscript are in public collections, while others have appeared at auction.

Qur’ān 28:74 Surat Al-Qasas (The Story) / And [warn of] the Day He will call them and say, "Where are My 'partners' which you used to claim?"

Qur’ān folio from Spain, 13th century, on pink dyed paper with brown maghribi script, gold diacritics outlined in black, shadda diacritic (ـّ) used in the Arabic script to indicate gemination of a consonant and sukun diacritic (ـْ‎) used in the Arabic script to mark the absence of a vowel both in blue, hamzah (ء) letter in yellow and green, two gold and black roundel verse markers containing abjad numbers in red and blue, a gold and polychrome medallion with red kufic marking khams, the upper margin with punched inventory inscription (the system used for vocalisation, orthography and pointing). Maghribi script (الخط المغربي) was employed in Al-Andalus (Muslim Andalusia), Maghrib (Morocco), Algeria, and Tunisia. Manuscripts on peach-pink dyed paper are believed to have been produced in Jativa, near Valencia, the site of the earliest documented paper mill in Spain (Fraser and Kwiatkowski, 2006, p.64). A number of folios from this manuscript are in public collections, while others have appeared at auction.

Qur’ān 28:75 Surat Al-Qasas (The Story) / And We will extract from every nation a witness and say, "Produce your proof," and they will know that the truth belongs to Allah, and lost from them is that which they used to invent.

Illuminated folio (ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper) from a dispersed Qur’ān (ca. 1180) following the transition during the Seljuq period from manuscripts written in squared kufic script on parchment to those written in the new style kufic script on paper. Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts, it consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script. In this manuscript, the new style kufic script is characterized by the extreme elongation of its letters. Each page contains only four lines of text because of the large scale of its writing and the embellished spaces. The script stands out against the rich decorative background entirely filled with vegetal scrolls and looping vines and leaves terminating in large blossoms.

Folio from Surat Al Imran: will surely remove from them their misdeeds, and I will surely admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow as reward from Allah [3:195]

Illuminated folio (ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper) from a dispersed Qur’ān (ca. 1180) following the transition during the Seljuq period from manuscripts written in squared kufic script on parchment to those written in the new style kufic script on paper. Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts, it consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script. In this manuscript, the new style kufic script is characterized by the extreme elongation of its letters. Each page contains only four lines of text because of the large scale of its writing and the embellished spaces. The script stands out against the rich decorative background entirely filled with vegetal scrolls and looping vines and leaves terminating in large blossoms.

Folio from Surat Al-Ma'idah (The Feast): when Moses said to his people, "O my people, remember the favor of Allah upon you when He appointed among you prophets and made you possessors and gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds. [5:20]

Folio from the multivolume Qur’ān manuscript known as the “Blue Qur’ān”, with gold and silver on indigo-dyed parchment, Kufic script with omitted diacritical and voweling marks and minimalist ornamentation, from Tunisia, probably from the Great Mosque of Qairawan, circa second half 9th c mid-10th c. Several scholars have suggested dates for the Blue Qur’an, ranging from the 9th to the mid-10th c, and attributed it to either Qairawan in Tunisia (because of the particular system of abjad numbering in this illuminated manuscript and a description of a manuscript having the same specifications was found in an inventory in the Mosque of Qairawan in A.H. 693/1293 A.D), or Cordoba in Al-Andalus, Umayyad Spain. Like most Qur’ān manuscripts from the 8th through the 10th c, it is distinguished by the use of parchment, a horizontal format, and the kufic script. The only decoration found on many of these pages consists of the circular silver marks that separate each verse (now almost entirely oxidized and faded). The art of gold lettering on dyed vellum or parchment (this art most likely came from the Christian Byzantine Empire) is luxurious and rare, which means this manuscript could have been commissioned by the caliph himself or a wealthy patron. Experts have stated that the verses on the pages shown in this post are from Surah Ar-Rūm (The Byzantine Empire, or The Byzantines, or The Greeks) 30:24-32. Although I personally love this manuscript so much for various reasons, I can barely read the entire lines displayed here (despite my Arabic native level and the fact I do read the Qur’ān fast), this Kufic script is difficult to read because the letters have been manipulated to make each line the same length. Notes from my research / on view and picture courtesy The Met Museum.

Folio from the multivolume Qur’ān manuscript known as the “Blue Qur’ān”, with gold and silver on indigo-dyed parchment, Kufic script with omitted diacritical and voweling marks and minimalist ornamentation, from Tunisia, probably from the Great Mosque of Qairawan, circa second half 9th c mid-10th c. Several scholars have suggested dates for the Blue Qur’an, ranging from the 9th to the mid-10th c, and attributed it to either Qairawan in Tunisia (because of the particular system of abjad numbering in this illuminated manuscript and a description of a manuscript having the same specifications was found in an inventory in the Mosque of Qairawan in A.H. 693/1293 A.D), or Cordoba in Al-Andalus, Umayyad Spain. Like most Qur’ān manuscripts from the 8th through the 10th c, it is distinguished by the use of parchment, a horizontal format, and the kufic script. The only decoration found on many of these pages consists of the circular silver marks that separate each verse (now almost entirely oxidized and faded). The art of gold lettering on dyed vellum or parchment (this art most likely came from the Christian Byzantine Empire) is luxurious and rare, which means this manuscript could have been commissioned by the caliph himself or a wealthy patron. Experts have stated that the verses on the pages shown in this post are from Surah Ar-Rūm (The Byzantine Empire, or The Byzantines, or The Greeks) 30:24-32. Although I personally love this manuscript so much for various reasons, I can barely read the entire lines displayed here (despite my Arabic native level and the fact I do read the Qur’ān fast), this Kufic script is difficult to read because the letters have been manipulated to make each line the same length. On view / picture courtesy The Met Museum.

Illuminated bifolio of Dala’il al Khayrāt compiled by Al Jazuli, featuring two illustrations of the two holy cities of Makkah (left) and Madinah (right) copied in Kashmir in the late 18th century, Arabic manuscript, opaque watercolour, gold, and ink on paper. Please check previous post and caption/notes re: Dala’il al Khayrāt and Al Jazuli. How beautiful are these illustrations (and the colour palette)? The history of the art of illuminating and illustrating manuscripts is as old as the history of the manuscript/book itself. I’m fascinated by the Kashmir school of book illustration that developed from the 17th century to the 19th century. I can recognise a Kashmiri 17th-19th century illuminated illustration by heart, from the colour palette, the gentle brush strokes, and how it makes me feel. Like in the bifolio shared in the previous post, elements of Kashmiri style and characteristics of the Kashmiri Dala’il al Khayrāt copies are present here too: two dimensional style, rectangular fields, gold and polychrome illuminated margins, concentric composition (here, too, the keyhole motif encloses the Kaaba), intricate details, elaborate geometrical borders (illuminated floral margins throughout the manuscript), colours typical of the Kashmiri rich palette (albeit delicate and ethereal in this one), and the pictorial traditions of that specific space and time, for ex for Madinah (right): the minbar, the three tombs (Prophet’s ﷺ tomb and two of his companions a.s), the tomb of Prophet’s daughter Fatima (as) represented as a domed structure and the palm tree she planted while her father was alive. Notes from my research / picture courtesy Christie’s.