Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


    • Binding for a Qur'an, late 16th century
    Iran
    Leather binding, stamped, cut, and gilt with turquoise insets

    H. 14 in. (35.6 cm), W. (closed) 10 in. (25.4 cm), W. (open) 27 in. (68.6 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1956 (56.222)

    The stamped and gilded techniques used for this leather binding were common in the Middle East, especially in Iran where the art first developed, and in Turkey, where it was perfected. Central almond-shaped medallions and concave fillings in the four corners are common features of Islamic books. Ottoman book covers with this kind of composition and floral design served as models for a great number of Venetian Renaissance bookbindings and, more surprisingly, Venetian furniture as well.

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    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Ettinghausen, Richard. "Islamic Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 33, no. 1 (Spring, 1975).
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  • Binding for a Qur'an, late 16th century
    Iran
    Leather binding, stamped, cut, and gilt with turquoise insets

    H. 14 in. (35.6 cm), W. (closed) 10 in. (25.4 cm), W. (open) 27 in. (68.6 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1956 (56.222)