Qur'an

Description This manuscript, Walters W.568, is a fragment of the Qur'an, consisting of chapters 19 (Surat Maryam) through 23 (Surat al-mu'minun). It was produced in the Maghreb and dates to the12th century AH/AD 18th. The text is written in a large Maghribi script, with vocalization in red, green, and yellow ink on Italian paper. The codex opens with an illuminated chapter heading for chapter 19 (Surat Maryam) written in the New Abbasid (Broken Cursive) style (fol. 1b) in gold ink within a decorative headpiece. The titles of other chapters are written in the New Abbasid (Broken Cursive) style in gold ink (fols. 21a, 47b, 70a, and 102a) with a marginal medallion. The blind-tooled goatskin binding is not contemporary with the manuscript and probably dates to the 13th century AH/AD 19th.

Exhibitions

• The Divine Word and Sacred Sites of Islam. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1997.
• Speaking the Word of God: Illuminated Korans from the Walters Art Museum. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2007.
• Poetry and Prayer: Islamic Manuscripts from the Walters Art Museum. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2010.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters