Smithsonian collection of Qur’anic manuscripts

By Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Arts on October 20, 2011 in Calligraphy, Manuscripts, Uncategorized · 0 Comments

A collection of 9th–19th-century Korans (intact volumes and detached folios) from Iran, the Arab world, and Turkey at the Freer and Sackler galleries of Smithsonian’s Museums of Asian Art.

A section (juz’) of a Koran | Origin: Probably North Africa or Spain, | Period: 12th century | Details: The fine rounded forms and sweeping curves of the letters here are typical of the so-called maghribi (western) script, used throughout North Africa and southern Spain. These pages are also remarkable for their intricate, illuminated designs. A medallion within the text signifies a verse ending, while a larger one in the margin indicates the end of a section. The last line of text, written in gold in a densely spaced, cursive script, contains blessings on the Prophet Muhammad. To accentuate the break in the text, an elaborate sunburst medallion occupies the entire left page. While these markers were essential to the correct reading of the text, they also added significantly to the beauty of the pages. The purple coloring is the result of mildew damage. The verse is from the third chapter of the Koran, known as al-Imran, (The Family of Imran) and refers to all Hebrew prophets from Moses to Christ. It celebrates the joys and divine bounty reserved for Muslims. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on parchment | Size: H: 21.0 W: 20.0 cm | Museum Code: F1931.9 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Section (juz’) from a Koran, Sura 2, verses 200-203 | Origin: Probably Iraq | Period: 9th-10th century Abbasid period | Details: Most Korans from the late ninth and early tenth centuries are written with a reed pen in dark brown or black ink on a horizontally oriented parchment. The script generally is referred to as kufic , a term associated with the town of Kufa in southern Iraq, one of the main centers for the development of the Arabic script. Notable for its short vertical and elongated horizontal strokes, the scripts stark elegance often is relieved by red diacritical marks; a small floral medallion in the margin indicates a verse ending. The folio is from the second sura (chapter) of the Koran, known as al-Baqara (the Cow). The verses prescribe duties, such as fasting and feeding the poor, for Muslims who cannot perform or complete the hajj (pilgrimage), one of the five pillars of Islam. | Type: Ink, color and gold on parchment | Size: H: 24.5 W: 33.0 cm | Museum Code: F1937.6.1-32 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Double folio from a section of a Koran | Origin: North Africa or Near East, | Period: early 9th century Abbasid period | Details: The twenty-two folios are part of a superb small Koran fragment, datable to the early 9th century. Bound in sections, its intimate size indicates that it was intended for personal use. | Type: Ink, color, and gold on parchment | Size: H: 25.6 W: 8.1 cm | Museum Code: F1997.27.1-23a-b | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Page from a Koran, Sura 79, verses 40-46; sura 80, verses 1-19 | Origin: Egypt | Period: mid-14th century Mamluk period | Details: By the thirteenth century, a number of more cursive writing styles had replaced kufic as the preferred scripts for the Koran. One of the most prevalent such scripts was muhaqqaq , notable for its tall, slender verticals and sweeping sublinear strokes. The other popular cursive script was thuluth , reserved primarily for monumental inscriptions on objects, buildings, and chapter headings as is evident here. The page on view includes verses from two chapters, al-Nazi`at (Those Who Drag Forth) and Abasa (He Frowned) that occur towards the end of the Koran. The first reminds Muslims of the coming of the Day of Judgment, while the second sura cautions against judging people by their appearance. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper | Size: H: 41.0 W: 31.8 cm | Museum Code: F1930.59 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran | Origin: Egypt | Period: 1313 Mamluk period | Details: This folio was originally part of a Koran commissioned by the Mamluk Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (reigned 1294-95, 1299-1309, and 1309-40) of Egypt and Syria. According to its colophon, the manuscript was copied in gold by Shadhi ibn Muhammad ibn Ayyub (d. 1342) and illuminated by two artists, Aydughi ibn Abdullah and Ali ibn Muhammad, who show their design skill in the variety of marginal medallions as seen on this example. | Type: Ink, gold and opaque watercolor on paper | Size: H: 34.4 W: 25.9 cm | Museum Code: F1937.32 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Illuminated double-folio for a Koran | Origin: Probably Shiraz, Fars, Iran | Period: circa 1550-1575 Safavid period | Details: The Koran-the unadulterated word of God for Muslims-is the most revered text in the Islamic world, and no effort was spared in its embellishment. Korans made in sixteenth-century Iran frequently begin and end with a double-folio of intricate designs rendered with paints made from gold and lapis lazuli, the semi-precious stone. This double-folio is inscribed with the last two chapters of the Koran, entitled al-Falaq (Dawn) and al-Nas (Mankind), and would have appeared at the end of the manuscript. | Type: Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper | Size: H: 21.5 W: 12.7 cm | Museum Code: S1986.86.1-2 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Fragment of a Koran folio, Sura 3, verses 79-80 | Origin: Iran | Period: 14th century Timurid period | Details: With the rapid spread of Islam, the need for more legible and easily transcribable scripts became paramount. In response, calligraphers in the eleventh century began to refine a series of cursive writing styles that were used for both religious and secular texts. This fragment from the fifteenth century is written in muhaqqaq, one of the most popular cursive scripts reserved for the Koran. Particularly favored for its boldness, the script is characterized by slender verticals and sweeping sublinear strokes. In this folio, the word Allah (God) stands out in gold, while the medallion on the right marks the end of the verse. The passage stresses the importance of submission to God. | Type: Ink and gold on paper | Size: H: 17.8 W: 36.1 cm | Museum Code: F1945.18 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran: Sura 21, verses 111-12; Sura 22: 1-2 | Origin: Probably North Africa, | Period: 9th century Abbasid period | Details: In the ninth century, Korans began to be embellished with a series of ornamental devices, such as the colored band indicating the beginning of a new chapter (sura). Apart from serving as “markers” within the text, the colorful band enhances the beauty of the page. | Type: Ink, color and gold on parchment | Size: H: 28.3 W: 39.8 cm | Museum Code: F1945.16 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from an Koran | Origin: Iran | Period: 12th century | Details: By the twelfth century a number of regional kufic styles, each with its own distinct ornamental features, developed throughout the Islamic world. This folio from a Koran is written in the “eastern” kufic script favored in Iran and Central Asia. Slender, elongated letters with certain flourishes predominate, and the vertical strokes often terminate in “barbed” heads. The development of this elegant and fluid script coincided with the widespread use of paper, which allowed for a greater degree of experimentation with size, format, and calligraphic styles. The text is from the seventy-seventh chapter, entitled “Those Sent Forth” (Al-Mursalat), which describes the horrors of the hereafter for those who reject the truth. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper | Size: H: 31.3 W: 20.1 cm | Museum Code: F1937.46 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran, Sura 5, verses 12-13 | Origin: North Africa, Unclassified | Period: 13th century | Details: Korans in North Africa and Islamic Spain were written in a distinctive style known as maghribi , or Western script, which has undergone little stylistic change over time. Characterized by fluid lines and deep, open curves, the script was usually copied in brown or black ink, with diacritical marks applied in green, yellow, and red inks. Verse endings are often indicated by gold-knot designs that heighten the visual beauty of the page. Like other thirteenth-century maghribi Korans, the text here is written on parchment, a medium that had been replaced by paper in the rest of the Islamic world. The verses are from sura 5, al-Ma’ida (“Table-spread”), which addresses the observance of Islamic religious duties. | Type: Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on parchment | Size: H: 16.5 W: 15.5 cm | Museum Code: F1929.69 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran | Origin: Near East or North Africa, North Africa or Near East | Period: 8th-9th century Abbasid period | Details: This folio, notable for its restrained elegance, is from the Koran’s forty-eighth chapter (sura), titled The Victory (Al-Fatih). Small gold medallions in pyramidal form indiate verse endings, while diacritics appear in red. The verses read as follows: Allah’s are the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is ever Mighty, Wise. Lo, we have sent you [the Prophet Muhammad] as a witness and a bearer of good tidings and a warner. That you may believe…. | Type: Ink, color, and gold on parchment | Size: H: 23.8 W: 33.7 cm | Museum Code: F1930.64 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Illuminated folio from a bound volume of a portion of the Koran | Origin: Iran | Period: 10th century Abbasid period | Details: This double folio belongs to the twelfth part of a thirty-volume Koran written in kufic script on parchment. Compositions employing geometric units filled with stylized floral motifs as well as palmettes extending into the outer margins are characteristic of early Islamic illumination. Similar folios would have decorated the opening of each of the thirty volumes in the series. | Type: Gold on parchment | Size: H: 16.5 W: 11.5 cm | Museum Code: F1934.25 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran | Origin: Egypt | Period: 1313 Mamluk period Reign of Nasir al-Din Muihammad | Details: By the fourteenth century, the main text of the Koran was written exclusively in one of several cursive scripts, while the angular, or kufic, style was reserved primarily for the chapter headings. Among the most popular Koranic scripts was naskh, which was admired particularly in fourteenth century Egypt for its legibility and fluidity. This sumptuous, detached folio is from a copy of the Koran executed in gold naskh and outlined in black; the script tends to be densely packed with equal balance given to the vertical and horizontal strokes. Prominent medallions indicate the verse endings, while the new chapter heading, written in elegant kufic, is set in a cartouche at the top. According to its colophon, the manuscript was copied for Nasir al-Din Muhammad, the Mamluk ruler of Egypt and Syria (reigned 1294-95, 1299-1309, 1309-40). | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper | Size: H: 34.3 W: 25.9 cm | Museum Code: F1938.15 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran | Origin: Egypt | Period: 9th-10th century Abbasid period | Details: The verses are from sura (chapter) 22, entitled al-Hadj (Pilgrimage) and include a discussion of the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Hadj is one of the five principal duties of every Muslim. | Type: Ink and color on parchment | Size: H: 22.5 W: 29.7 cm | Museum Code: F1929.71 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran | Origin: unknown | Period: 11th-12th century Saljuq period | Details: By the eleventh century, a number of distinct kufic scripts had developed. In Iran, the letters became more refined, characterized by elongated vertical strokes with left-facing flourishes. In this folio, from a now-dispersed copy of the Koran, the vegetal scroll design, usually reserved for discrete areas of illumination, serves as a backdrop to the elegantly proportioned words. This is the only known Koran decorated in this unusual and elaborate manner. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper | Size: H: 32.3 W: 21.4 cm | Museum Code: F1939.56 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio in a Koran | Origin: Iran | Period: 16th century Safavid period | Details: As the Koran represents the unadulterated word of God for Muslims, no effort was spared to heighten the text’s beauty and splendor. Copied by the most accomplished calligraphers in the finest scripts, Korans were often embellished with intricate, abstract designs in precious pigments made from powdered gold leaf and lapis lazuli. This art form, known as illumination, reached new levels of refinement and sophistication in sixteenth-century Iran. Artists would create lavish patterns to highlight chapter headings, verse endings, as well as the opening and closing pages of the Koran. This elaborate double-folio appears at the end of the manuscript and is inscribed with a short prayer (dua) in praise of the Koran, which would have been recited after reading the text. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper | Size: H: 41.6 W: 27.0 cm | Museum Code: F1932.69 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Section from a Koran | Origin: Egypt | Period: 14th century Mamluk period | Details: This manuscript contains the second quater of the Koran, from Sura VII (“The Heights”) to Sura XVII (“The Cave”). | Type: Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper | Size: H: 31.1 W: 23.5 cm | Museum Code: S1986.25 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Page from a Koran, Sura 10, verses 24-27 | Origin: Egypt | Period: 9th century | Details: Until the later tenth century, most Korans were written on parchment in an angular script, generally known as kufic , after the city of Kufa in southern Iraq, one of the main centers associated with the scripts development. Written with a reed pen, the kufic script is notable for its long horizontal and short vertical strokes. The horizontal format of most early Korans further accentuated the letters shallow, sweeping strokes. The thick, almost heavy script of this page is relieved by small, regular spaces that lend it a measured formality. The tenth chapter (sura) of the Koran is entitled Jonah, and the verses above describe the pleasures awaiting those who trust in God. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor on parchment | Size: H: 28.0 W: 38.3 cm | Museum Code: F1929.72 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran, Sura 8, Verses 45-48 | Origin: Iran | Period: 11th-12th century | Details: This folio is written in the so-called eastern kufic script, associated with Iran and central Asia. The verses here are from sura 8, entitled “al-Anfal” (The Spoils of War) and explain some of the advantages of military discipline. | Type: Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper | Size: H: 41.3 W: 29.8 cm | Museum Code: S1997.95 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran, Sura 48, verse 15 | Origin: Near East or North Africa, Near East or North Africa | Period: 8th-9th century Abbasid period | Details: This folio exemplifies the power and elegance of the kufic script, which was adapted to a variety of media, such as parchment, silk, rock crystal, and marble during the first centuries of Islam. The text of this folio is from sura (chapter) 48 of the Koran, known as al-Fatiha (The Victory), which celebrates the oath that the Prophet Muhammad and his followers took to uphold Islam. | Type: Detached folio; ink and color on parchment | Size: H: 23.7 W: 33.3 cm | Museum Code: F1930.61 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Book cover | Origin: Turkey | Period: 17th century Ottoman period | Details: An inscription, “Only the pure may touch it,” suggests that this fine leather binding was intended for a copy of the Koran, although similar covers were used for secular manuscripts. Gold leaf highlights were created on block stamps, then pressed into the leather to leave a finely sculpted impression. The lavish application of gold leaf underlines the importance of manuscripts, such as the Koran, in the Islamic world. | Type: Gilded leather over pasteboards | Size: H: 22.0 W: 40.6 cm | Museum Code: S1986.16 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran | Origin: Iran or Iraq | Period: 12th century | Details: Many distinctive forms of Arabic calligraphy were developed over time for the transcription of the Koran, the holy book of Islam. Some of these writing styles are associated with specific regions in the Islamic world. Calligraphers in the Maghrib (North Africa) and Spain favored thin, light letters with deep flourishes that curve below the line and create a rhythmic effect. In Iran, kufic script was transformed into a dynamic style, sometimes called eastern cubic, in which tall, upright letters contrast with short and sharply slanted ones, as seen in the gold headings of the double folio at the right. The text on these two leaves is written in naskh , a cursive script of balanced proportions frequently used to copy the Koran from the late ninth century until modern times. The art of illumination also continued to evolve varied and original forms, as evidenced by the robust scrollwork in the lower panels of the Koran form Iran and the large medallion marking the tenth verse in the margin of the maghribi Koran. | Type: Ink and gold on paper | Size: H: 17.4 W: 15.4 cm | Museum Code: F1929.74 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Selection of the Koran | Origin: Possibly Iran | Period: 14th century | Details: With the rapid geographic spread of Islam, the need for more legible and transcribable styles of writing became paramount. One of the most popular of these scripts was muhaqqaq , recognizable by its slender verticals and rounded, shallow sublinear strokes. This folio (F1932.61) in muhaqqaq is inscribed with the first two verses of chapter 53, entitled al-Mujadilat (She who disputes). Reportedly, a woman complained to the Prophet that her husband had locked her away for no apparent reason. Soon after, Muhammad received a revelation urging the acceptance of a woman’s plea on behalf of herself and her children and condemning the degradation of her position. The message illustrates the importance of the Koran not only as a spiritual guide but also as a moral one. The chapter begins as follows: God has indeed heard (and accepted) the statement Of the woman who pleads with thee concerning her husband And carries her complaint in prayer to God And God always hears the arguments between both Sides among you: for God hears and sees (all things). | Type: Ink, color and gold on paper | Size: H: 36.9 W: 26.7 cm | Museum Code: F1932.60-61 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran | Origin: Egypt | Period: mid-14th century Mamluk period | Details: This folio belongs to a Koran that was most likely commissioned by a high-ranking official of the Mamluk court in Egypt (1250Â–1517). The text is written in muhaqqaq , a script favoured in the fourteenth century for copying large Korans. Characterized by slender verticals and powerful horizontals, muhaqqaq means “strongly expressed or realized.” In contrast, the chapter headings, set in illuminated rectangles, are in thuluth, a script reserved for manuscript headings and inscriptions on buildings and portable objects. Illuminated rosettes mark the verse divisions. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper | Size: H: 41.1 W: 32.5 cm | Museum Code: F1930.58 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran | Origin: North Africa, | Period: 13th century | Details: By the thirteenth century, different regions throughout the Islamic world had developed their own scripts. In north Africa and Islamic Spain, the so-called maghribi, or Western style, became predominant and changed little over the centuries. The small rectangular folio is typical of this script with its open curves and full, rounded forms. Like all Islamic scripts, maghribi is written with a reed pen. The gold lozenge indicates the end of a verse, and the colored circles above and below the letters are diacritical marks. The fifth chapter of the Koran, al-Ma’ida (Tablespread), is believed to be the last revelation received by the Prophet and reminds Muslims of their religious duties and responsibilities. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on parchment | Size: H: 16.6 W: 15.6 cm | Museum Code: F1929.68 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran, Sura 6, verses 26-35 | Origin: Iran | Period: early 14th century Il-Khanid period | Details: After the eleventh century, a number of more easily transcribed cursive writing styles replaced kufic as the preferred script for the Koran. Among the most popular was the muhaqqaq script, known for its slender verticals and shallow sublinear curves. This folio, from a now-dispersed copy of the Koran, is written in gold muhaqqaq on paper. To further enhance the visual richness of the folio, the vowel marks above and below the letters are indicated in ink made from powdered lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone. Verse endings appear as gold and lapis lazuli spheres, while the larger medallion in the margin marks an additional text division. Sumptuous yet restrained, the folio is characteristic of Korans produced under the Mongol Il-Khanid dynasty, which ruled over Iran and Iraq from 1256 to 1353. | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper | Size: H: 43.5 W: 34.5 cm | Museum Code: F1942.4 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folios from a Koran, Sura 9:128-29 | Origin: Egypt | Period: mid 14th century Mamluk period | Details: Many fourteenth-century Korans include sumptuously illuminated double-page frontispieces, finispieces (end folios), and chapter headings that often combine floral motifs, geometric designs, and intricate arabesques. By this time, calligraphers favored a variety of cursive scripts for the body of the Koran, while the earlier kufic script was explored for its decorative qualities and primarily reserved for heading. Here, it is used for an endingÂ— the last two verses of sura 9, known as Repentance . | Type: opaque watercolor,ink and gold on paper | Size: H: 40.9 W: 64.0 cm | Museum Code: F1930.55 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran: Sura 38, verses 87-88; sura 39, verse 1 | Origin: Near East or North Africa, North Africa or Near East | Period: 8th-9th century Abbasid period | Details: The earliest Korans were copied in a rectangular script, generally known as kufic . Employed throughout the early Islamic world, this script is notable for its short verticals, elongated horizontals, and red vowel marks. Another characteristic of this calligraphic style is the pronounced spaces between words and letters that appear visually as significant as the words themselves. The illuminated chapter heading, terminating in an elegant palmette in the margin, indicates a break in the text. | Type: Ink, color and gold on parchment | Size: H: 23.9 W: 33.6 cm | Museum Code: F1930.60 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

Folio from a Koran, Sura 5, verse 68 | Origin: Anatolia, India? | Period: 14th-15th century Sultanate period | Details: Korans were frequently transported from one part of the Islamic world to another, encouraging the dissemination of certain calligraphic styles and formats. This folio was originally part of a now dispersed, thirty-volume copy that was transcribed in an unusual hybrid script, referred to by scholars as “thuluth verging on muhaqqaq.” The text, notable for the size of the script in relation to that of the folio, is framed with a kufic inscription set against a gold, floral scroll. While scholars generally agree that the kufic band was added in India, the origin of the text itself is less clear. On the basis of a number of other Korans in a similar script and format, some specialists have attributed these folios to Anatolian Turkey, Iran, or Central Asia, while others have claimed that both the text and the borders were done in India. The three lines are from sura 5, “The Tablecloth.” | Type: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper | Size: H: 28.8 W: 18.6 cm | Museum Code: S1997.102 | Photograph and description taken from Freer and the Sackler (Smithsonian) Museums.

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Tags: folio, freer gallery of art, manuscripts, Quran, quran. leaf, sackler gallery of art, smithsonian institution

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Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Arts

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The Freer and Sackler galleries have one of the finest collections of Islamic art in the United States, with particular strengths in ceramics and illustrated manuscripts. Highlights of the collection include: * An important collection of ceramics from the 9th–13th century, representing a variety of shapes, techniques, and designs, primarily from Iran and the Arab world. * Egyptian and Syrian metalwork from the 13th century, including two of the most important examples decorated with Christian imagery. * A collection of 9th–19th-century Korans (intact volumes and detached folios) from Iran, the Arab world, and Turkey. * 14th-century Syrian glass. * A distinguished collection of illustrated and illuminated manuscripts from Iran and the Arab world, including the Divan (Collected poems) of Sultan Ahmad Jalayir, ca. 1400; Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) by Jami, dated 1556–66; and the largest number of illustrations from the 14th-century Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings), one of the most important illustrated texts of the Islamic world. * Some one-hundred 19th-century Central Asia ikats from the Guido Goldman Collection. The Smithsonian Institution has two museums of Asian art: the Freer Gallery of Art which opened to the public in 1923, and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, which welcomed its first visitors in 1987. Both are physically connected by an underground passageway, and ideologically linked through the study, exhibition, and sheer love of Asian art. In addition, the Freer Gallery contains an important collection of 19th century American art punctuated by James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room, perhaps one of the earliest (and certainly one of the most controversial) art installations on record. Each building has its own aesthetic: the Freer is designed in a classical style whose architectural nexus is a courtyard that used to house live peacocks in the museum's early days. It was Charles Lang Freer's goal to facilitate the appreciation of world cultures through art, a noble undertaking as important today as it was more than a century ago, when he first willed his artwork and archives to the nation.

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Smithsonian collection of Qur’anic manuscripts

Smithsonian Museum’s Folio & Manuscript Collection

Smithsonian Metalwork Collection

Leaf from a Qur’an manuscript, late 9th–10th century

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Smithsonian collection of Qur’anic manuscripts

Smithsonian Museum’s Folio & Manuscript Collection

Smithsonian Metalwork Collection

Leaf from a Qur’an manuscript, late 9th–10th century

About the Author

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