Harvard Art Museums > 2014.397: Manuscript of the Qur’an, with lacquer binding Manuscripts Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Manuscript of the Qur’an, with lacquer binding , 2014.397,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 23, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/351911. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2014.397 Title Manuscript of the Qur’an, with lacquer binding Classification Manuscripts Work Type manuscript Date 17th-19th century Places Creation Place: Middle East, Iran Period Safavid period Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/351911 Physical Descriptions Medium Watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer on pasteboard (covers) Ink, gold, and colors on paper (text) Dimensions 15.3 × 9.7 × 2.8 cm (6 × 3 13/16 × 1 1/8 in.) Text area: 10.9 × 6 cm (4 5/16 × 2 3/8 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2014. Note: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar Accession Year 2014 Object Number 2014.397 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description The manuscript is very small and opens with double illuminated text pages with sura 1 and 2. However the first page has been replaced with a later one, and a folio written ornately and minutely in shikasta nastaliq has been inserted between the original and replacement folios. The actual Qur'an text has been written in naskh in fourteen lines to a page in black ink on a ground of alternating yellow- and green-toned gold. A Persian interlinear translation is copied in red ink in nastaliq script. Extensive commentary written obliquely in shikasta script can be found on the margins of several pages. A note on the margin and the inserted folio give the dates 1084 H (1673) and 1141 H (1729) along with artists' names, although these are difficult to decipher. The binding is lacquered and the narrow field is composed of a central medallion with pendants and corner pieces filled with flowers and arabesques. Several borders of varying width frame the field. It appears that the original Safavid manuscript was refurbished with a lacquer binding in the Zand or Qajar era, at which time the extra folio and notes were added. Publication History Massumeh Farhad and Mary McWilliams, ed., A Collector’s Passion: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar and Persian Lacquer, Harvard Art Museums and Freer/Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution (Cambridge, MA/Washington, D.C., 2017), p. 95, cat. 7 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
