Name of Object:Qur’an binding Location:Berlin, Germany Holding Museum:Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum About Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin Date of Object:Hegira late 8th century / AD late 14th century Museum Inventory Number:I. 5622 Material(s) / Technique(s):Embossed, gilded and painted leather. Dimensions:Height 95 cm, width 67 cm Period / Dynasty:Mamluk (Bahri) Provenance:Egypt. Type of object:Binding, Quran, leather Description:From its large size, this binding of a one-volume Qur’an, covered in geometric ornamentation, must have been associated with the court. It cannot yet be related to a specific Qur’an manuscript. It is thought that this Qur’an was a gift from the Mamluk Sultan al-Ashraf Sha‘ban II (AH 764–78 / AD 1363–76) to one of his pious foundations. Several handwritten Qur’ans commissioned by this same patron are now kept in the National Library in Cairo. Appropriately for a leather bookbinding of a Qur’an, an inscription from Sura 2 v.255 was chosen for the border. The middle field shows part of a repetitive geometrical pattern of 12-pointed stars typical of Mamluk works of art and architecture. Its large size indicates court associations. How date and origin were established:This book cover has been dated to the Mamluk period through comparisons with other Mamluk book covers that were donated by the Mamluk Sultan al-Ashraf Sha‘ban, and which are now housed in the National Library of Cairo. How Object was obtained:Probably through B. Moritz in Cairo, 1904. How provenance was established:The Qur’an’s binding was acquired in Cairo and is directly comparable to other similar Egyptian book covers, so it is very probable that it is from Egypt. Selected bibliography:Atil, E., Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks,Washington, 1981, pp.2–27, no. 5–6. Citation of this web page:Annette Hagedorn "Qur’an binding" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;de;Mus01;29;en Prepared by: Annette Hagedorn
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