c. 1790
This small manuscript is a composite of texts interspersed with twenty-two illuminated calligraphic compositions, including the footprint, hand, sandal, and sword of the Prophet Muhammad. There are also calligraphic seals of the prophets as well as names of God. The texts include fragmentary chapters of the Qur'an, Turkish prayers written in the eighteenth century, and a nineteenth-century copy of the Futuh al-Haramayn. The last is a pilgrims' guide to the two holiest shrines of Islam, the Kaᶜba at Mecca and the Tomb of the Prophet at Medina.
22.6 x 14 x 2 cm (8 7/8 x 5 1/2 x 13/16 in.)
[Sotheby's, London, 10 December 1962, lot 91], sold; to Edwin Binney, 3rd, 1962, bequest; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1985.
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
16th centuryPersianThe forty-first of a series of 54 backing sheets mounted in an album; ink and color on paper
16th centuryJapaneseInk and gold on paper
16th centuryPersianInk and gold on paper
14th centuryIslamicInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
16th centuryPersianFive thread-bound books; ink on paper
18th-19th centuryJapaneseInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th centuryOttomanInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
19th centuryOttomanInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
14th centuryPersianInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th centuryOttomanInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
15th centuryPersianInk, colors, and gold on paper
16th century