Leaf from a Qur'an manuscript, late 11th–12th century
Iran or Afghanistan
Ink, gold, and colors on paper
Technical Glossary
Iran or Afghanistan
Ink, gold, and colors on paper
11 3/4 x 8 3/4 in. (29.8 x 22.2 cm)
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Horace Havemeyer, 1929 (29.160.23)
The four lines of "Eastern kufic" script show very low, angular letters but the dominant feature is the combination of two very long, vertical letters (alif and lam), which form the peculiar pointed oval-shaped pattern that appears once on the page. The treatment of the background, entirely filled with vegetal scrolls terminating in large blossoms so that the script seems to be "carved out," sets this Qur’an apart from all the others known from this period.
