Illuminated folio from a Qur’an (F1932.65)

Folio within a bound Qur’an; recto: left-hand half of a double-page frontispiece; shamsa (sunburst medallion) with floral motifs, Sura al-Isra (the Night journey), sura 17:88; verso: right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, Sura al-Fatiha (the Opener), sura 1:1-5; Arabic in white muhaqqaq script, title in white thuluth script; vocalized in white; one of a group of 5 bound folios (F1932.66-70) from the manuscript (F1932.65); accessioned separately.
Border: The recto is set in an illuminated border; the verso is set in gold and lapis illuminated border on cream-colored paper.

Historical period(s)
Safavid period, 1598 (1006 A.H.)
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 42 x 27.3 cm (16 9/16 x 10 3/4 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1932.67
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
illumination, Iran, Islam, muhaqqaq script, Qur'an, Safavid period (1501 - 1722), sura 1, sura 17, thuluth script
Provenance

To 1932
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York to 1932 [1]

From 1932
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York in 1932 [2]

Notes:

[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note.

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

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Hagop Kevorkian 1872-1962

Description

Folio within a bound Qur'an; recto: left-hand half of a double-page frontispiece; shamsa (sunburst medallion) with floral motifs, Sura al-Isra (the Night journey), sura 17:88; verso: right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, Sura al-Fatiha (the Opener), sura 1:1-5; Arabic in white muhaqqaq script, title in white thuluth script; vocalized in white; one of a group of 5 bound folios (F1932.66-70) from the manuscript (F1932.65); accessioned separately.
Border: The recto is set in an illuminated border; the verso is set in gold and lapis illuminated border on cream-colored paper.

Inscription(s)

Sura al-Isra, sura 17:88, central unit medallion, “They could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support.”
Verso: Sura Fatiha, 1:1-5:
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds:
The Beneficent, the Merciful:
Owner of the Day of Judgment.
You alone we worship; you alone we ask for help.
Show us the straight path:
The path of those you have favored; not the path of those who earn your anger or those who go astray.

Published References
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Exhibition of 2500 Years of Persian Art. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 8, pp. 1, 3.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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