Folio from a Qur’an, Sura 38:80-86

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur’an; recto: Sura Sad (Sad) 38:80-83, recto begins with “fa’innaka min”; verso: sura 38:84-86; Arabic in black kufic script; gold orbs stacked as pyramid-shaped verse markers; additional inscribed gold roundel verse marker; vocalized in red, green, and yellow; one column; 7 lines of text; one of a group of 13 folios.

Historical period(s)
Abbasid period, 8th-9th century
Medium
Ink, color, and gold on parchment
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 23.7 x 33.6 cm (9 5/16 x 13 1/4 in)
Geography
North Africa or Near East
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1930.66
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
Abbasid period (750 - 1258), Islam, kufic script, Near East, North Africa, Qur'an, sura 38
Provenance

To 1930
Elizabeth T. Riefstahl, to 1930 [1]

From 1930
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Elizabeth T. Riefstahl in 1930 [2]

Notes:

[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note.

[2] See note 1. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Elizabeth T. Riefstahl

Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; recto: Sura Sad (Sad) 38:80-83, recto begins with "fa'innaka min"; verso: sura 38:84-86; Arabic in black kufic script; gold orbs stacked as pyramid-shaped verse markers; additional inscribed gold roundel verse marker; vocalized in red, green, and yellow; one column; 7 lines of text; one of a group of 13 folios.

Published References
  • Erica Cruikshank Dodd, Shereen Khairallah. The Image of the Word: A Study of Koranic Verses in Islamic Architecture. 2 vols., Beirut. vol. 1: fig. 4.
  • Muhammad Husayn. Origins of the Book: Egypt's Contribution to the Development of the Book from Papyrus to Codex. Greenwich, Connecticut. p. 108.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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