Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript

Unknown

ca. 1180 · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

This folio from a dispersed Qur'an exemplifies the transition during the Seljuq period from Qur'ans written in kufic script on parchment to those copied in the more rounded new-style writing on paper. By the late twelfth century, the practitioners of the new style had perfected its mannered, slightly eccentric forms. As seen here, these include the extreme elongation of tall letters and the ellipse formed by combining two of these letters, lam and alif.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1180

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Horace Havemeyer, 1929