Two pages from a Qu’ran
Raqqada, Kairouan, Tunisia
Museum of Islamic Art
About Museum of Islamic Art, Raqqada.
Hegira, late 2nd–early 3rd centuries / AD 8th–9th centuries
P 208
Decorated parchment.
Length 35 cm, width 25 cm; 14 lines
Aghlabid
Probably Kairouan.
These two pages which contain the suras, al-Balad (verses 10–20) and al-Shams (verses 1–6) are taken from a Qur'an written in thick kufic script.
The orthographical signs are denoted by single red dots and the tanwin by two vertically arranged red dots in the manner of Abi al-Aswad, (d. AH 61 / AD 681). The use of the colour red to denote all the orthographical signs is a system that was adopted by the Iraqi school of calligraphy, unlike the Andalusian school which used various colours. In the library of the Great Mosque of Kairouan there are Qur'ans displaying both methods of writing, which shows the important linking role that Ifriqiya played as a meeting place between East and West.
The tenth verse is marked with a star surrounded by multicoloured lobes. The title of the sura is made up from the name of the sura and the number of verses it contains. It is written in gilt kufic script framed with stippled strap-work reminiscent of the decoration of some of the contemporary bookbinding from Kairouan. The frame has a palm-leaf motif made up of stylised leaves and floral arabesques which extend to the edges of the page.
Taken from a Qur'an written in kufic script, these two pages contain two Qur'anic quotations: the suras al-Balad (verses 10–20) and al-Shams (verses 1–6). The use of red for the orthographic symbols is typical of the Iraqi school of calligraphy, while the Andalusian school used a range of colours.
Compared with other Qur'ans dating from the middle of the 3rd / 9th century, the kufic lettering style seems more archaic, allowing us to date this Qur'an from the late 2nd to the early 3rd century (8th / 9th century). This is corroborated by the decorations found at the beginning of each sura in this Qur'an, which are mostly geometric and have a more naïve look about them than later Qur'ans.
At the time of the abolition of the habus foundation in 1959, this Qur'an was acquired by the Bardo Museum before being transferred to the Museum of Islamic Art at Raqqada in 1983.
This Qur'an belonged to the old library of the Great Mosque. Given that Kairouan was at that time a great centre of book production it is highly likely that this example was copied and bound at Kairouan on locally tanned parchment.
Tunisia: from Christianity to Islam (exhibition catalogue), Lattes, 2001, p.194, plate no. 112.
Ifriqiya: Thirteen Centuries of Art and Architecture in Tunisia, pp.159–62, 182–3.
Mourad Rammah "Two pages from a Qu’ran" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;tn;Mus01;1;en
Prepared by: Mourad RammahMourad Rammah
Né en 1953 à Kairouan, docteur en archéologie islamique, Mourad Rammah est le conservateur de la médina de Kairouan. Lauréat du prix Agha Khan d'architecture, il publie divers articles sur l'histoire de l'archéologie médiévale islamique en Tunisie et participe à différentes expositions sur l'architecture islamique. De 1982 à 1994, il est en charge du département de muséographie du Centre des arts et des civilisations islamiques. Mourad Rammah est également directeur du Centre des manuscrits de Kairouan.
Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
Translation by: David Ash
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez
Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.
True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.
MWNF Working Number: TN 01
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