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Leaf from a Qur’an, 1302–8; Ilkhanid
Iraq (Baghdad)
Ink, gold, and colors on paper; 17 x 13 7/8 in. (43.2 x 35.2 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1950 (50.12)

This superbly illuminated page originally formed the right half of a double-page opening to a section of a Qur’an. It combines the three main Islamic types of nonfigural decoration: calligraphy, vegetal patterns, and geometric patterns. The vegetal patterns here are the classical scrolls utilized as the background to the calligraphy, within the compartments of the geometric interlace, and in the text frame and margin medallion. Two ground colors are used to introduce additional patterning.


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    Leaf from a Qur’an, 1302–8; Ilkhanid
    Iraq (Baghdad)
    Ink, gold, and colors on paper; 17 x 13 7/8 in. (43.2 x 35.2 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1950 (50.12)