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Illumination of the Qur’an. by The British Library. Dr Colin Baker introduces Islamic illumination, looking at its function and common features, and illustrating its historic development with sumptuous examples from Qur’ans around the world.
A number of unstudied luxurious Qur’ans survive from the Ghaznavid period (c. 977-1186 CE) exemplifying imperial manuscript production in the eastern Islamic lands. Amongst the group, two Qur’ans were copied and illuminated by ʿUthmān b. al-Ḥusayn al-Warrāq al-Ghaznawī, his son Muhammad and one ʿAlī.
Elaine Wright has shown that this text block type did not become widespread in Islamic manuscripts until at least the mid-fourteenth century – a development that coincided with a proliferation in the production of romantic epics, such as the Khamsa of Niẓāmī (d. 1209). 32 The four-column text block was in use from at least the early ...
- What Was The Role of The Illuminator?
- Was The Entire Qur’an Illuminated?
- Did Illumination of The Qur’an Always Follow The Same format?
- How Did Sacred Architecture Influence Illumination?
- How Has Qur’anic Illumination developed?
- Have Qur’ans Around The World Been Decorated Differently?
The task of embellishing the Qur’an would have been undertaken by the illuminator on completion of the text by the calligrapher, although it was not uncommon for them to have been the same person. Where they were not, it can be assumed that they worked together, collaborating in the planning of the page layout and the format of the volume. Their na...
Early kufic Qur’ans from the 9th century CE exhibit the beginnings of illumination and decoration, but from the late 10th century onwards these were accompanied by more elaborate illumination. As the decoration became progressively complex, certain pages – such as the frontispiece – were treated more elaborately than others. Because of its lavish a...
Illustrative of ornate illumination, which is in places unconventional, is the Baybars Qur’an, so named after its patron, Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Jashnagir. Produced in Cairo between 1304 and 1306, this is the earliest dated Qur’an of the Mamluk period (1250–1517). It has seven volumes, each of which has a magnificent double frontispiece; these carp...
An outstanding example of the balance between function, ornament, script and layout is the 14th-century Qur’an donated to a mosque in Cairo by the Mamluk sultan Faraj ibn Barquq (r. 1399–1412). The inspiration of a mosque is immediately evident from the gold architectural structure containing the word ‘prostration’ (sajdah) in blue kufic. Ornate te...
By the time the Safavid dynasty came to rule in Persia – between 1501 and 1732 – a new delicacy and refinement had begun to replace the established style of illumination. One feature of the development was the changing function of the carpet pages. As seen in a 16th-century Qur’an from Afghanistan (or possibly India), the carpet pages were replaced...
Islam became firmly established in Indonesia and the Malay world when the rulers of Pasai in North Sumatra converted in the 13th century and the religion soon spread to other parts of the archipelago. A distinctive characteristic of Malay Qur’ans is seen in their use of vibrant colour as an integral part of the design. Particularly illustrative is ...
Costly paper, finely tooled bindings, special scripts, and intricate illumination are among the characteristics that distinguish the manuscripts in The Art of the Qur’an. In this symposium, investigate the materiality of luxury copies of the Qur’an made between the eighth and the seventeenth century from Herat to Istanbul.
Though various Islamic societies also practiced this art, Europe had one of the longest and most cultivated traditions of illuminating manuscripts. A brief treatment of illuminated manuscripts follows.
An introduction to the study of manuscripts in Arabic script, 2006) and early Qur’anic manuscripts (La transmission écrite du Coran dans les débuts de l’islam. Le codex Parisino-petropolitanus ,2009; Qur’ans of the Umayyads , 2014).
