Kur’an-ı Kerim

This calligraphic fragment includes verses 85-88 of the 6th chapter of the Qur'an entitled Surat al-An'am (The Cattle). This late Meccan surah describes the nature of God and how He reveals Himself. Verses 85-88 in particular describe a number of prophets such as Jesus, Elias, and Jonah as capable of guiding believers to the "straight path" (al-sirat al-mustaqim). The text is executed in Kufi script in black ink, at six lines per page, surrounded by a gold painted frame. Verses on the fragment's recto have worn off substantially, as they were executed on the flesh side of the parchment. On the recto's third line appears a fifth-verse marker, separating verse 85 from 86. It is in the shape of a gold upturned virgule. Other verse markers on the recto and verso take the form of a gold flower with a central blue dot. Diacritics appear as red dots and marks for vowel-lessness (sukun) as green dots. Other diacritical marks are shaped as diagonal strokes and may have been inserted at a later date. The text's Kufi script is in the style typical of horizontal Qur'ans produced on parchment during the ninth century. Arabic calligraphy; Illuminations; Islamic calligraphy; Koran