Folio from the "Blue Qur'an"

Title: Folio from the "Blue Qur'an"

Date: second half 9th–mid-10th century

Geography: Made in Tunisia, possibly Qairawan

Medium: Gold and silver on indigo-dyed parchment

Dimensions: 11 15/16 x 15 13/16 in. (30.4 x 40.2 cm)

Classification: Codices

Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 2004

Accession Number: 2004.88

Description

This folio comes from a sumptuous, multivolume Qur'an with indigo pages and silver verse markers that was probably copied in North Africa. Its palette is thought to refer to the purple‑dyed, gilded manuscripts made in the neighboring Byzantine empire. As in other early Qur'ans, the script here is difficult to read because the letters have been manipulated to make each line the same length, and the marks necessary to distinguish between letters have been omitted.

Related