Details

Subject(s)

• Qurʼan—Manuscripts [Browse]
• Islamic illumination of books and manuscripts—Egypt—14th century—Specimens [Browse]

Scribe

• Iṣfahānī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, active 1387 [Browse]
• اصفهاني، احمد بن علي،, active 1387، [Browse]

Bookseller

• Andalaft, Dimitri [Browse]

Summary note

Illuminated copy of the 30th, and final, section of the Qurʼān; begins with al-Nabāʻ (78); the pages have been trimmed.

Notes

• Binding: Textblock is detached from the covers, which are brown leather over pasteboard with flap (Type II); front and back cover have an intricate mosaic-style blind- and gold-tooled pattern on a large, circular, lobed central medallion, cornerpieces, and frame; flap is gold and blind-tooled vine patterns with frame and a gold-tooled medallion on the inside; doublures are block-stamped leather with purple paper hinges (now torn) stamp painted with a black and yellow pattern.
• Decoration: Illuminated frontispiece in gold, blue and black; blue cartouches with titles in white with gold flowers surrounding the text stand above and below an empty, multifoil, central medallion set into a square; the medallion is outlined by two continuous, intersecting strips, the spandrels of which are filled with a floral design of white, green, pink and gold; wide, gold rules with a chain design line each section of the page; three gold medallions along the outer edge (page [1]). Dual-page illuminated first opening with the textblock border-ruled in wide gold with geometric designs, the text in contoured bands with flowers and vines in blue, green and gold in-fill; title in white on a blue background rectangle, lined in the same wide gold (pages 2-3). Sūrah titles in gold. Gold roundels divided into 10 sections and outlined in blue and red dots mark verse endings. Gold, circular, marginal medallions with blue outline and finials mark the 5th and 10th verses. Notations in gold (often partially trimmed) mark the text divisions and prostrations. Colophon outlined in the same wide gold band with geometric patterns and written on contour bands with light, crosshatch in-fill.
• Dimensions of original manuscript: 405 x 295 (315 x 210) mm bound to 320 x 220 mm.
• Laid, non-European paper; occasionally visible chain lines.
• Layout: Written in 11 long lines, 3 large lines with two sets of 4 smaller lines in between.
• Mostly effaced stamp, possibly a madrasah inventory stamp (pages [1], 41); note with many errors recording a partial ḥadīth and dated 1246 (A.H.) (page 43), note under the frontispiece in the same hand and referring to the same topic as end note (page [1]).
• Origin: Copy completed by Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī al-Iṣfahānī in the school (madrasah) founded by al-Malik al-Ẓāhir [Barqūq] (first reign 1382-1389) on 10 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 789 A.H. (pages 41-42).
• Pagination: Modern pagination in pencil added, upper outer corners ([1]-9, 11-45); no catchwords.
• Script: Written in muḥaqqaq (large lines), thuluth (sūrah titles) and naskh (small lines) in black ink; pointed and vocalized.
• Title from caption (page 1).

Reproduction note

Electronic reproduction. Philadelphia, Pa. : University of Pennsylvania Libraries, 2019.

Original version

Original: Juzʼ al-thalāthūn min al-rabʻah al-sharīfah (NEP 80), University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Location of originals

• Original Columbia, Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
• OPenn University of Pennsylvania Libraries.

Location of other archival materials

• Ajzāʼ 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 19, 28 located at Dār al-Kutub, Cairo.
• Juzʼ 10 located at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, MAO 2281.
• Juzʼ 15 located at the Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels, Ms. 19991.

Language note

Arabic.

Source acquisition

Purchased from Dimitri Andalaft in 1924

Cite as

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology NEP 80

OCLC

1112670311

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