Qur'an Manuscript Folio (recto); left side of bifolio (800s): Art, History and Details

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (recto); left side of bifolio (800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, was elevated above all other art forms in the Islamic world because Allah, God, revealed the divine word of Islam to the Prophet Muhammad in the Arabic language. Arabic script evolved gradually until the 800s when Muslim scribes produced copies of the Qur'an that were calligraphic masterpieces. This Qur'an, written entirely in gold, exemplifies the angular form of writing known as kufic at its majestic best. Distinctive markings—short ink strokes, colored dots—identify the vocalization of the text. The folio is framed by an interlacing border and displays a leafy motif in the outer margin.

Object facts

• Title: Qur'an Manuscript Folio (recto); left side of bifolio
• Date: 800s
• Culture: North Africa, Aghlabid or Abbasid Period, 9th century
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: gold, ink and colors on parchment
• Dimensions: Overall: 26.7 x 73 cm (10 1/2 x 28 3/4 in.); Text area: 22.8 x 30 cm (9 x 11 13/16 in.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1993.39.2.a

A detail from the museum

The text is from the Chapter of the Moon (54:13–27).

Collection credit

The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.