A PAGE FROM A MANUSCRIPT OF SELECTIONS FROM THE QUR'AN, SYRIA, EGYPT OR ANATOLIA, 14TH CENTURY

Adrienne Minassian, New York, 1955

This is an interesting Qur'anic page. The text is from the Qur'an, but is from two different suras. The upper and lower line, written in gold, are from Surat al-Shua'ra (XXVI), verses 192 and 193, while the middle three lines, written in white, are from Surat al-Hijr (XV), verse 87. This indicates that the manuscript from which this page originates probably contained selections from the Qur'an, rather than the full text. The text written in white is the famous verse which mentions the "Seven Oft-Repeated..." (sab'an min al-mathani).

The style of illumination is interesting too. Generally it relates to Mamluk work of the 14th century, but uses a more vibrant palette and is more freely executed. Thus it may be a provincial Mamluk manuscript, perhaps from Syria. However, it bears a resemblance to the opening illumination in a Qur'an attributed by David James to Anatolia or Central Asia (James 1988, cat.59, p.172). Nevertheless, the offset imprint on the recto of the present folio shows that the original binding had a doublure of Mamluk style, so that a 14th century Syrian origin is perhaps the most likely. A doublure of extremely similar design is illustrated in Bosch, Carswell and Petherbridge 1981, no.9, p.96.