Folio Decorated with Marbling

Unknown

18th century · Ink and pigments on marbled paper · Islamic Art

This unfinished page has been decorated with marbling, which involves the use of viscous pigments to ornament the surface of the paper. Known as "abru" in Persian and "ebru" in Turkish, this decorative technique is most commonly found on pages framing samples of calligraphy or poetry destined for display in an album. This part of the page illustrates how folios in Islamic albums and manuscripts could comprise layers of decorative framing paper as well as pasted text and picture segments.

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th century

Medium

Ink and pigments on marbled paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Gift of Dr. Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, in loving memory of her husband, Professor Maan Z. Madina, 2019