Papyrus Fragment

Unknown

8th–10th century · Ink on papyrus · Islamic Art

The seven lines remaining from this fragmentary papyrus are part of a letter. Continuing a longstanding tradition, papyrus was used in Egypt as a substitute for expensive vellum before paper became widespread around the 10th–11th century. Papyrus was used for documents, letters, and commercial transactions in a type of script that is comparable to the modern cursive style. Letters usually started with thanking God and his prophet Muhammed, sending greetings to the addressee and his family members, then moving to the author’s main purpose.

Artist

Unknown

Date

8th–10th century

Medium

Ink on papyrus

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Museum Accession