Manuscript of the Qur’an, with leather binding
ManuscriptsPersian18th century

Manuscript of the Qur’an, with leather binding

1774

Description

This hand-sized Qur'an manuscript opens with double illuminated text pages. The text has been copied in 21 lines to a page in black ink in naskh script. Chapter headings as well as verse markers have been illuminated. The main text of the Qur'an ends with a prayer on the last folio. The manuscript was copied by the scribe, Ibn Muhammad Salih Muhammad Hashim al-Isfahani, for Mirza Abu'l-Hasan in Ramadan 1188 (December 1774) according to the colophon. The manuscript has been repaired and the present leather binding with gilded decoration most likely belongs to this later phase.

Classification
Manuscripts
Medium
Gilded leather (binding) and ink, gold, and colors on paper (text)
Culture
Persian
Period
Zand period
Century
18th century
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Department
Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

11 x 7 cm (4 5/16 x 2 3/4 in.) Text area: 9.4 x 5.5 cm.

Provenance

Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2014. Note: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market.

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Manuscript of the Qur’an, with leather binding | Harvard Art Museums | KenAI