Middle East or North Africa
late 9th – early 10th century AD
ink, gold and opaque watercolour on vellum
copied in Kufic script; 15 lines to the page
20.4 x 30.8cm
Text: surah al-Jathiyah (XLV), verse 37, to surah al-Ahqaf (XLVI), verse 10.
The title and verse count at the beginning of surah al-Ahqaf are written in gold in a rectangular panel with a marginal tassel. The line finishes with a thin knotted band filled with coloured dots. Red dots indicate the vocalization, but the black diacriticals were added later.
F. Déroche, The Abbasid Tradition, Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, vol. I, London 1992, cat.17, p.65.
J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.11, p.37.