Decorated Folio

Unknown

18th century · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

The decorative motifs on this part of a folio were most likely created using a stencil, which the artist then embellished by adding pigments and very finely painted minute details. Pages like this would originally have framed paintings, drawings or samples of calligraphy, which would have been included in an album or manuscript. This part of the page illustrates how a single folio in Islamic manuscripts and albums could comprise layers of decorative framing paper as well as pasted text and picture segments.

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th century

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

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