Folio from a Qur’an, sura 1:1-5; sura 17:88

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur’an; right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece; separate from the facing folio S1986.84.2; recto: shamsa, Sura al-Isra (the Night journey)17: part of 88, recto begins with “al-qur’an”; verso: Sura al-Fatiha (the Opener)1:1-5, verso begins with “bismillah”; Arabic in white and gold thuluth and muhaqqaq script; vocalized in white and gold; one column; 4 lines of text; one of a group of two folios.
Border: The text is set in an illuminated border.

View right to left

Historical period(s)
circa 1550-1570
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 32.5 x 19.7 cm (12 13/16 x 7 3/4 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
S1986.84.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, Iran, Islam, Qur'an, sura 1, sura 17
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece; separate from the facing folio S1986.84.2; recto: shamsa, Sura al-Isra (the Night journey)17: part of 88, recto begins with "al-qur'an"; verso: Sura al-Fatiha (the Opener)1:1-5, verso begins with "bismillah"; Arabic in white and gold thuluth and muhaqqaq script; vocalized in white and gold; one column; 4 lines of text; one of a group of two folios.
Border: The text is set in an illuminated border.

Inscription(s)

Inscriptions: (Shamsa) Say: Verily, though 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 Isra: 88].

Published References
  • Henry René d'Allemagne. Du Khorassan au pays des Backhtiaris, trois mois de voyage en Perse. Paris. vol. 2: p. 164.
  • 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. 9, p. 20.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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