Catalog Record: chicago.apis.7841 [xml]
Title | Qur'an |
---|---|
Summary | The complete Qur'an with selected passages paraphrased in Persian (The surahs follow different verse count systems, all those of Iraq and Syria being represented.) |
Citations | |
Inv. Id | O.I. 12103 |
Support/Dimensions | paper ; 14.5 x 23.3 cm |
Condition | The paper is 100% rag, very thin and rather crisp. The thickness of the pages all together is only 1.8 cm with the leaves pressed down, 2.3 cm without pressure on the leaves. The manuscript is in good condition. There are a few instances of slight damage, but these have been carefully mended. The margins were originally wider, but were trimmed off in binding. The current binding is modern and lacks the customary flap. Besides the end papers, there are 2 extra blank leaves at each end, all of modern white paper. Except for a few scratches and a tear on the back cover, the leather is in good condition. The manuscript was received in a cloth bag made of red silk with a tapestry-woven design in black and yellow and other ornamentation in gold thread. It is lined with coarse white cloth and bound with red woolen tape. The lining is still in good condition. The tape is much worn in parts. The red silk cloth is worn threadbare. |
Lines | 248 folios with mostly 17 lines per page in Arabic and with Persian notes |
Recto/Verso | Source of description: On recto and verso: Qur'an |
Hands | The Arabic text is written in black in good naskhi. The surah titles are also in naskhi, but written a little larger and in blue. The Persian commentary is in the nasta'liq script. The Qur'anic passages to be commented on are written in red, the commentary in black. The black ink is very even, and the writing on the whole is very carefully done, though not always on the same scale. There are very few scribal errors. Occasional omissions were fixed in red by a later hand. Catchwords are in a later hand. Originally, the text did not have any punctuation and reading signs, except to mark the ends of verses. A later hand, using red ink, has emphasized the maddahs by writing over the original small black maddah. The margins contain numerous traces of letters and incomplete words written in a brown-black ink in a poor hand. Page 290 shows the word sajdah written in red and beside it the remains of the same word in black. Thus, the manuscript had 2 "editions," the first working with black and the second with red ink. The second one has marked the beginning of each juz' and has indicated its division by quarters, but the markings are neither consistent nor complete. |
Origin | Unknown |
Language | Arabic; Persian |
Date | XIIth or XIIIth century A.H. |
Note (general) | Text area, including the Persian, measures 11.8 x 21.3 cm. The Arabic alone is 9.4 x 16.5 cm. In some surahs, a small red h marks off the 5 verse groups; 10 verse groups are not marked. The ruku' is marked by a large red 'ayin, placed sometimes in the Persian margin and sometimes in the outer margin. A small 'ayin written in the text accompanies the larger one in the margin. In one instance, 'ayin-ba' signifies that it is a Basran ruku'. 6 of the 14 sajdahs are marked in red in the margin. 2 show signs of having been written in black. The other 6 are lacking. A band of gold outlined with black between blue lines separates the rectangle of Arabic text from the marginal Persian notations. The same type of band separates the Persian from the outer margins of the page. Ornaments at the corners and in the center of the vertical Persian section give 4 more or less equal spaces on the page. In these, the Persian is written diagonally in parallel lines within each space. Arabic and Persian text lines are separated by irregular cloud-like bands of gold bordered in black by very fine curved strokes. The end of each verse is marked by a gold circle with black outline. There are no 5 or 10 verse group marks. The surah titles, and in a few instances the verse numbers too, are written in blue over gold. No extra spacing is allowed for the beginning of a surah. The bismillah starts a new line, with a spalsh of gold above the extended s, and usually occupies the entire line. In some cases, no ornaments appear with surah headings and there are no ornamental devices to mark the juz' divisions. The genius of the artist is centered on decoration of the Persian margins, when not used for comments, and of 3 elaborate double pages, 1 pair at the beginning, 1 at or about the beginning of the 15th juz', and 1 at the end of the volume. The cover is 2 layers of heavy paperboard covered with fine leather dyed brownish-red and highly polished. The back has no special reinforcement. The ornamentation, stamped in gold, is simple. |
Note (general) | Location: Oriental Institute |
Note (general) | Pub. status: Published: recto and verso |
Subjects | Islam; Qur'an; Literary; paper |
License | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License. |
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