Qur'an stand (rahla)
Dated A.H. 761 / A.D. 1360
Maker: Hasan ibn Sulaiman Isfahani
Iran
Teak; carved, painted, and inlaid; 45 x 50 x 16 1/2 in. (114.3 x 127 x 41.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Musuem of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1910 (10.218)
KEY WORDS AND IDEAS
Qur'an, imam (prayer leader), madrasa (religious school), calligraphy (thuluth, kufic, and naskh scripts), vegetal and floral ornament, wood
LINK TO THE THEME OF THIS UNIT/FUNCTION
Lavishly decorated stands (rahlas) were designed to hold large copies of the Qur'an. According to its inscriptions, this one was used in a religious school (madrasa) in a town near Isfahan, in present-day Iran.
DESCRIPTION/VISUAL ANALYSIS
This stand is made of two interlocking wood panels decorated with carved inscriptions and floral, vegetal, and geometric motifs. The upper square panels bear the word God ("Allah") repeated in four quadrants over a background of carved spiral arabesques. The lower rectangular sections are deeply carved in several layers; at the center of a representation of a prayer niche (mihrab) stands a cypress tree. The frame of the niche is decorated with calligraphy and spiraling arabesques, while naturalistic flowers cover the surface outside this border. The inscriptions include the name of the carver, Hasan ibn Sulaiman of Isfahan, and evoke the might of God and the holiness of Muhammad and the twelve Shi'i imams, his successors.
CONTEXT
Inscriptions from religious texts frequently decorate Qur'an stands. Those using this stand would have been highly educated and thus able to read and understand the calligraphy. However, in Islam, the words of God are a blessing to believers, even when they cannot be read.
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