papyri's galerij

Two decorative leaves from a large Qur'an written on burnished laid paper. Sultintate India, c. 1425. Written in an elegant large bihari script in black ink. The word Allah is picked out in gold.…

Detail of decorative opening pages from an Islamic Prayer Book. North India, late 18th/19th Century. Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper.

Decorative opening pages from an Islamic Prayer Book. North India, late 18th/19th Century. Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper. Text written in naskhi script in black ink with significant words…

Folio from a dispersed manuscript copy of the Dalâ’il al-Khayrât. Nigeria or Western Sudan early 20th Century. The text is written in a Sudani style Maghribi script (Ifriqi script). The…

Folio from a dispersed manuscript copy of the Dalâ’il al-Khayrât. Nigeria or Western Sudan early 20th Century. Decorative section divider with colorful line borders. The text is written in a…

Detail of the page border showing a gold and polychrome roundel verse marker from a leaf from an illuminated Safavid Koran, Persia (Iran), circa 1575.

A leaf from an illuminated Safavid Koran, Persia (Iran), circa 1575. Arabic manuscript on burnished paper. There are twelve lines of text to the page in black strong hand of naskhi script with full…

Consecutive leaves from an Islamic Prayer Book. North India, late 18th/19th Century. Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper. Seven lines of text written in nadkhi script in black ink with significant…

Consecutive leaves from an Islamic Prayer Book. North India, late 18th/19th Century. Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper. Seven lines of text written in nadkhi script in black ink with significant…

Leaf from a fragment of Qur'an selections and prayers for the days of the week. Manuscript on burnished paper, Turkey, mid 17th century. Text is written in a delicate but firm black naskhi script,…

Leaf from a fragment of Qur'an selections and prayers for the days of the week. Manuscript on burnished paper, Turkey, mid 17th century. Text is written in a delicate but firm black naskhi script,…

Leaf from an Islamic Prayer Book. North India, late 18th/19th Century. Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper. Seven lines of text written in nadkhi script in black ink with significant words picked…

Leaf from an Islamic Prayer Book. North India, late 18th/19th Century. Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper. Seven lines of text written in nadkhi script in black ink with significant words picked…

Looking at a page from a huge manuscript Qur'an on display as part of "the Art of the Qur'an" Exhibit at the Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.). This incredible manuscript…

Exhibit "The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts" at the Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.). Partial view of a monumental Qur’an…

Exhibit "The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts" at the Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.). One of the extraordinarily beautifully…

Exhibit "The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts" at the Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.). Detail of a beautifully decorated opening…

This stunning large manuscript shows a variety of calligraphic styles. This single-volume Qur’an is attributed to Abdallah al-Sayrafi. It was made in Iran, probably Tabriz, around 1330. It is a…

Mamluke period Qur'an from Cairo, Egypt. This Single-volume Qur’an dates to around 1480-90. The highly decorated cover flap from the binding of this large manuscript book is visible in the…

Detail of an exquisitely decorated opening page from a single-volume Qur’an. Copied by Shams al-Baysunghuri; Historic Iran, present day Afghanistan, Herat, Timurid period, 1434. One of the items…

Exhibit "The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts" at the Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.). Display case showing two Qur'ans. The…

Detail of an exquisitely decorated Qur'an. This Single-volume Qur’an was copied by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khalili al-Tabrizi (Iran, Safavid period) and was completed in January 1576. One of the…

Abbasid period Qur'an dating from ninth to tenth century. This Qur'an was written on parchment in a kufic script. One of the items displayed during the exhibit "The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures…

Exhibit "The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts" at the Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.). Visitors examine one of the magnificent…

One of the highlights of "The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts" exhibit at the Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.). Visitors pose for…

One of the highlights of "The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts" exhibit at the Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.). Looking down from…