Name of Object:

Qur’an

Location:

Rabat, Morocco

Holding Museum:

National Library

About National Library, Rabat.

Date of Object:

Hegira 9th / AD 15th-16th centuries

Museum Inventory Number:

1304

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Green paper, liquid silver.

Dimensions:

Height 22 cm , length 16.5 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Wattasid

Provenance:

Morocco.

Description:

This is an incomplete volume from a Qur'an that would originally have consisted of 12 volumes. Each page contains seven lines of text written with liquid silver on green paper, in Maghrebi cursive script. The vocalisation and the orthoepic signs (suqun and hamza) are in gold, red and blue. The titles of the suras, along with the verse numbers, are written with golden ink. Each verse aya is separated by a golden eight-petal rosette, circled by a border topped by eight series of small golden dots assembled in groups of three. The group of five verses is indicated with a stylised kufic hâ in a shape of golden tear and repeated in the margin by a larger design in the shape of an illuminated droplet (gold on a red background).
This manuscript is a beautiful example of a Qur'an written on paper instead of parchment. It represents the new writing trends that appeared at the end of the Marinid dynasty. Before the AH 8th / AD 14th century, all Qur'ans were transcribed on parchment, considered until then as the only noble material worthy of bearing Qur'anic texts. Although made in Morocco from the AH 9th / AD 15th century, paper was not considered a noble material and it was only used for non-sacred texts. It was not until the Marinid period that the use of paper became widespread for the transcriptions of the Qur'an and the Hadith.

This Qur'an, written in liquid silver on green paper using Maghrebi characters, is a good example of the new writing trends of the age. The vocalisations of the symbols are coloured, while the titles of the suras, the rosettes and the teardrops between verses are in gold.

How date and origin were established:

From the use of paper, which only became widespread for the transcriptions of the Qur'an from the 8th / 14th century, and from the writing style.

Selected bibliography:

Allouche, I. S., and Al-Rajraji, A., Majmoua moukhtara li makhtoutât arabiya nâdira min mâktabat âmma fi al-Maghrib, 1986.
Allouche, I. S. and Al-Rajraji, A., Fahras al-makhtoutât al-arabiyya al-mahfouza fi al-khizâna al-Amma bi Ribat al-Fath, Vol. I, Paris 1954.
Al-Razi, J., and Varichon, A., 6000 ans d'art au Maroc, catalogue, Paris, 1990.
Dandel, E., Maroc, les trésors du Royaume, catalogue, Paris, 1999.

Citation of this web page:

Naima El Khatib-Boujibar "Qur’an" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;ma;Mus01_F;28;en

Prepared by: Naima El Khatib-BoujibarNaima El Khatib-Boujibar

Archéologue et historienne de l'art, titulaire d'une licence en lettres (française), N. Elkhatib-Boujibar a également étudié l'archéologie et l'histoire de l'art à l'Institut d'art et d'archéologie de Paris, l'art islamique et la muséologie à l'École du Louvre (Paris), et suivi des cours à l'Institut d'ethnographie de l'Université de Neuchâtel (Suisse). Elle a occupé plusieurs postes de responsabilité, parmi lesquels directrice des Musées et de l'Archéologie, inspectrice générale des Musées et de l'Archéologie, déléguée régionale du ministère de la Culture.
Elle a dirigé un chantier de fouille durant 20 ans et enseigné à l'Institut national marocain des sciences de l'archéologie et du patrimoine (INSAP). Elle a organisé différentes expositions sur le patrimoine marocain, au Maroc comme à l'étranger, et animé des cycles de conférence, dont celui sur l'art islamique à la “Villa des Arts” à Casablanca.
N. El Khatib-Boujibar a publié différents articles sur le patrimoine archéologique, artistique et architectural marocain, mais aussi sur d'autres sites islamiques et sur les arts mobiliers. Elle a également participé à la rédaction du catalogue Musée Sans Frontières Le Maroc andalou, à la rencontre d'un art de vivre.
Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
Translation by: Laurence Nunny
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: MO 35