Folios from a Qur’an; Double-page frontispiece, sura 1, verses 1-7

Two folios of a Qur’an; Illuminated frontispiece, folio (1): right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, recto: Shamsa, Dibacha; verso: Sura I, “The Opening,” verses 1-5; folio (2): left-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, recto: Sura I, “The Opening,” verses 5-7; verso: Sura II, “The Cow,” verses 1-7.
Border: The text is set in illuminated rulings on a paper with geometric motifs.

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Historical period(s)
Safavid period, circa 1550
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (.1): 42.5 × 27.2 cm (16 3/4 × 10 11/16 in) H x W (.2): 42.5 × 24.4 cm (16 3/4 × 9 5/8 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1986.82.1-2
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folios

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, Iran, Islam, Qur'an, Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Two folios of a Qur'an; Illuminated frontispiece, folio (1): right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, recto: Shamsa, Dibacha; verso: Sura I, "The Opening," verses 1-5; folio (2): left-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, recto: Sura I, "The Opening," verses 5-7; verso: Sura II, "The Cow," verses 1-7.
Border: The text is set in illuminated rulings on a paper with geometric motifs.

Inscription(s)

Inscriptions: (dibacha) Say: Verily, through mankind and the jinn should; assemble to produce the like of this Koran, they could not; produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another; [Sura XVII: 88]. Verily God the High and Exalted tells the truth andpraise be to God the beneficent.

Published References
  • Elaine Wright. Lapis and Gold: Exploring Chester Beatty’s Ruzbihan Qur’an. London. figs. 306, 307, 308a, 308b, 309, 311.
  • Title unknown. vol. 27, no. 2, December 1993. cover.
  • Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an. 5 vols., Boston and Leiden. vol. 2, fig. 6.
  • Henry René d'Allemagne. Du Khorassan au pays des Backhtiaris, trois mois de voyage en Perse. Paris. vol. 2: p. 166.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Milo Cleveland Beach, Elisabeth West FitzHugh, Susan Nemanzee, Janet Snyder. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 7-8, p. 19.
  • Thomas W. Lentz. Pictures for the Islamic Book: Persian and Indian Painting in the Vever Collection. vol. 1, no. 4 New York, Fall 1988. p. 24, fig. 9.
  • Oleg Grabar. Masterpieces of Islamic Art: The Decorated Page from the 8th to the 17th Century., English ed. New York. p. 56, pl. 2.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 2, pp. 64-67.
  • Ideals of Beauty: Asian and American Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Thames and Hudson World of Art London and Washington, 2010. pp. 130-131.
  • Hunt for Paradise: Court Arts of Safavid Iran, 1501-1576. Exh. cat. Milan. pp. 148-9, fig. 5.6.
  • Assadullah Souren Melikian-Chirvani. Le Chant du Monde: L'Art de l'Iran safavide, 1501-1736. Exh. cat. Paris. cat. 60, pp. 258-259.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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