Illustrated Manuscript of An`am-i Sharif (Prayer Book) in Ottoman Turkish and Arabic
c. 1790
Description
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.
Dimensions
22.6 x 14 x 2 cm (8 7/8 x 5 1/2 x 13/16 in.)
Provenance
[Sotheby's, London, 10 December 1962, lot 91], sold; to Edwin Binney, 3rd, 1962, bequest; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1985.
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