Harvard Art Museums > 2014.396: 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 , 2014.396,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 16, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/351916. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2014.396 Title Manuscript of the Qur’an, with lacquer binding Classification Manuscripts Work Type manuscript Date 1719 Places Creation Place: Middle East, Iran, Isfahan Period Safavid period Culture Persian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/351916 Physical Descriptions Medium Watercolor, gold-colored pigments, copper particles, and lacquer over brass layer on pasteboard (covers) Ink, gold, and colors on paper (text) Dimensions 13.6 × 8.6 × 2.4 cm (5 3/8 × 3 3/8 × 15/16 in.) Text area: 10.2 × 5.3 cm (4 × 2 1/16 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 2014.396 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 opens with double illuminated pages with central medallions with prayers followed by double illuminated text pages with suras 1and 2. The text is copied in naskh script, 21 lines to a page, with illuminated chapter headings. The colophon page gives the name of the scribe, Muhammad Salih Muhammad Muhsin al-Isfahani who finished copying in H 1132 (1719). It appears that the folios, which were originally copied on cream-colored paper, have been re-margined with pink paper at a later date when some illuminated folios were also added to the text block. The lacquer binding, which may date from this later refurbishment, has a central medallion with pendants filled with floral sprays set against a gold floral arabesque. A thin band frames the field. The inner covers are decorated with a diamond-shaped central flower group and pendants. A thin band surrounds the field. 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. 94, cat. 5 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
