Qur'ans of the Maghreb or the Islamic west, including North Africa and Spain, diverged at an early date from the stream of developments further east. The preservation of a number of archaic calligraphic features derived from kufic and the use of parchment are typical of the region during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Despite these archaizing features, the use of gold ink, the exaggerated curves of the letters below the baseline, and colorful diacritic marks lend the composition a striking rhythmic quality.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript
Date:ca. 1250–1300
Geography:Made in North Africa
Medium:Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on parchment
Dimensions:Page: H. 10 1/4 in. (8 9/16 cm) W. 8 9/16 in. (21.7 cm) Mat: H. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm) W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
Classification:Codices
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1937
Accession Number:37.21
Inscription: Qur'an Sura (chapter) 4: begins at the end of verse 71 and continues through the middle of verse 76.
72. "[...] witness along with them."
73. "And if grace from Allah come to you, he would certainly cry out, as if there had not been any friendship between you and him: Would that I had been with them, then I should have attained a mighty good fortune."
74. "Therefore let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world's life for the hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward."
75. "And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those who say: Our Lord! cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper."
76. "Those who believe fight in the way of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight in the way of the arrogant ones. [...]"
[ Dikran G. Kelekian (American, born Turkey), New York, until 1937; sold to MMA]
Bloomington. Indiana University. "Islamic Art Across the World," June 18, 1970–October 1, 1970, no. 19.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Calligraphy West of China," March 15–May 7, 1972, no catalogue.
New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Celestial Pen: Islamic Calligraphy," September 28, 1982–February 7, 1983, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Rumi and the Sufi Tradition," October 23, 2007–February 3, 2008, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Balcony Calligraphy Exhibition," June 1–October 26, 2009, no catalogue.
Bowie, Theodore Robert. "An Exhibition Prepared by Theodore Bowie." In Islamic Art Across the World. Vol. no. 1970/3. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Art Museum, June 17 to Oct. 1, 1970. no. 19, p. 28, ill. fig. 19.
Schimmel, Annemarie. "Islamic Calligraphy." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., vol. 50, no. 1 (Summer 1992). p. 32, ill. fig. 39 (color).
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