Juz' (Section) of a Manuscript of the Qur'an (juz' 28 of 30)15th century

Not on view

Illuminated manuscript opening with two pages of Arabic calligraphy in black and gold ink, ruled borders in gold and black, with decorative medallions in the margins

Dark brown leather book binding with a diagonal fore-edge flap closure, featuring gilt border tooling and a central medallion ornament with raised decorative elements; worn and scuffed surface throughout.

Title: Juz' (Section) of a Manuscript of the Qur'an (juz' 28 of 30)
Culture: Mamluk
Place Made: Egypt or Syria
Date Made: 15th century
Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions: 10 1/4 x 7 in. (26.00 x 17.80 cm)
Credit Line: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number: M.73.5.602
Classification: Manuscripts
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: In Muslim cultures, because it is through writing that the Qur’an is transmitted, scripts in the Arabic alphabet were devised and perfected to be worthy of divine revelation. The Qur’anic text, comprising 114 chapters, might be rendered in a single manuscript (mushaf) or it might be divided into multiple parts, each bound as a separate section known as a juz’. One type of division into thirty parts coincides with the days of the month in the Muslim calendar, so that one might be read each day, especially during the month of Ramadan. Such Qur’ans were commonly endowed to religious institutions, making the text more widely available.

This slender juz’ belongs to such a now-dispersed thirty-volume manuscript of the Qur’an, likely produced in either Mamluk Egypt or Syria. It was perhaps intended for one of the many religious institutions built under the Mamluk dynasty (1250−1517), especially in their capital, Cairo. It contains the 28th juz’, from Sura 58 (Al-Mujadila) through Sura 66 (Al-Tahrim), written in muhaqqaq script in black ink with sura (chapter) titles rendered in gold. A later text inscribed on the double-page illuminated frontispiece indicates that the volume was acquired in AH 1063 (1653 CE), in Erzerum, in eastern Turkey, by a certain Sayyid Muhammad al-Mu’min.

2025
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.

Juz' (Section) of a Manuscript of the Qur'an (juz' 28 of 30)15th century

Not on view

Title: Juz' (Section) of a Manuscript of the Qur'an (juz' 28 of 30)
Culture: Mamluk
Place Made: Egypt or Syria
Date Made: 15th century
Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions: 10 1/4 x 7 in. (26.00 x 17.80 cm)
Credit Line: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number: M.73.5.602
Classification: Manuscripts
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: In Muslim cultures, because it is through writing that the Qur’an is transmitted, scripts in the Arabic alphabet were devised and perfected to be worthy of divine revelation. The Qur’anic text, comprising 114 chapters, might be rendered in a single manuscript (mushaf) or it might be divided into multiple parts, each bound as a separate section known as a juz’. One type of division into thirty parts coincides with the days of the month in the Muslim calendar, so that one might be read each day, especially during the month of Ramadan. Such Qur’ans were commonly endowed to religious institutions, making the text more widely available.

This slender juz’ belongs to such a now-dispersed thirty-volume manuscript of the Qur’an, likely produced in either Mamluk Egypt or Syria. It was perhaps intended for one of the many religious institutions built under the Mamluk dynasty (1250−1517), especially in their capital, Cairo. It contains the 28th juz’, from Sura 58 (Al-Mujadila) through Sura 66 (Al-Tahrim), written in muhaqqaq script in black ink with sura (chapter) titles rendered in gold. A later text inscribed on the double-page illuminated frontispiece indicates that the volume was acquired in AH 1063 (1653 CE), in Erzerum, in eastern Turkey, by a certain Sayyid Muhammad al-Mu’min.

2025
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.