Walters Ms. W.568, Koran

W.568

Koran

Vernacular: القرآن

This square-format manuscript is a fragment of the Qur'an, consisting of chapters 19 (Sūrat Maryam) through 23 (Sūrat al-muʾminūn). It was produced in the Maghreb and dates to the twelfth century AH / eighteenth CE. The text is written in a large Maghribī script, with vocalization in red, green, and yellow ink on Italian paper. The codex opens with an illuminated chapter heading for chapter 19 (Sūrat 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 thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.

12th century AH / 18th CE

Maghreb

Book

Scriptural

The primary language in this manuscript is Arabic.

Paper

Italian paper with watermark of three crescents

Foliation: 117

Fols. 115-117 without text

Catchwords: None

21.5 cm wide by 30.0 cm high

14.0 cm wide by 22.0 cm high

1. Columns: 1
2. Ruled lines: 8
3. Framing lines in gold, black, and dark blue

1. Title: al-Qurʾān
2. Text note: Chapters 19 (Sūrat Maryam) through 23 (Sūrat al-muʾminūn) only; text ends abruptly on fol. 114b with the basmala, indicating the start of another chapter
3. Hand note: Written in large Maghribī script vocalized in red ink, with a yellow dot for hamzah and a green dot for waṣlah; chapter headings in New Abbasid (broken cursive) style
4. Decoration note: Opens with an illuminated headpiece (fol. 1b); chapter headings in gold with marginal medallions (fols. 1b, 21a, 47b, 70a, and 102a); marginal medallions for prostrations (fols. 13b and 76b); illuminated ruled frames in gold, black, and dark blue

Upper board outside:

1. 
2. Title: Binding
3. Form: Binding
4. Label: This is a red goatskin binding with a lobed medallion with floral pattern in relief, which is outlined by double fillet lines of gold tooling extending above and below the axis of the design. It probably dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE and was produced in North Africa.

Folio 1a flap closed:

1. 
2. Title: Envelope flap of binding
3. Form: Binding

fol. 1b:

1. 
2. Title: Illuminated incipit with headpiece for chapter 19
3. Form: Incipit; headpiece
4. Text: Chapter 19 (Sūrat Maryam)
5. Label: This page has an illuminated headpiece inscribed with the chapter heading for chapter 19 (Sūrat Maryam) in the New Abbasid (broken cursive) style in gold ink. The text is written in a large Maghribī script, with vocalization in red, green, and yellow ink.

fol. 2a:

1. 
2. Title: Text page of chapter 19
3. Form: Text page
4. Text: Chapter 19 (Sūrat Maryam)
5. Label: The text is written in a large Maghribī script, with vocalization in red, green, and yellow ink.

fol. 13b:

1. 
2. Title: Text page with illuminated marginal medallion
3. Form: Marginal medallion
4. Label: This text page has an illuminated medallion in gold, blue, and red located in the right margin. This decorative form indicates the place where the believer performs a ritual prostration, or bowing down.

fol. 21a:

1. 
2. Title: Illuminated chapter heading for chapter 20 with marginal medallion
3. Form: Chapter heading
4. Text: Chapter 20 (Sūrat Tā Hā)
5. Label: The illuminated chapter heading for chapter 20 (Sūrat Tā Hā) is written in a decorative New Abbasid (broken cursive) style in gold ink. The text is written in a large Maghribī script, with vocalization in red, green, and yellow ink.

fol. 47b:

1. 
2. Title: Text page with illuminated chapter heading for chapter 21
3. Form: Chapter heading
4. Text: Chapter 21 (Sūrat al-anbiyā')
5. Label: This text page has the chapter heading for chapter 21 (Sūrat al-anbiyā'), written in the New Abbasid (broken cursive) style in gold ink. The main text is written in a large Maghribī script, with vocalization in red, green, and yellow ink.

fol. 70a:

1. 
2. Title: Text page with illuminated chapter heading for chapter 22
3. Form: Chapter heading
4. Text: Chapter 22 (Sūrat al-Hajj)

fol. 102a:

1. 
2. Title: Text page with illuminated chapter heading for chapter 23
3. Form: Chapter heading
4. Text: Chapter 23 (Sūrat al-muʾminūn)

fol. 114b:

1. 
2. Title: Text page with the final verses of chapter 23
3. Form: Text page
4. Text: Chapter 23 (Sūrat al-muʾminūn)

The binding is original.

Probably thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE; red goatskin (with flap); lobed medallion with floral pattern in relief, outlined by double fillets of gold tooling extending above and below the axis of the design; small medallion on flap

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Principal cataloger: Gacek, Adam

Catalogers: Landau, Amy; Smith, Sita

Editor: Bockrath, Diane

Conservators: Jewell, Stephanie; Quandt, Abigail

Contributors: Barrera, Christina; Emery, Doug; Herbert, Lynley; Noel, William; Simpson, Shreve; Tabritha, Ariel; Toth, Michael B.; Valle, Chiara

The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.