Folios from a Qur'an

CulturePersian

Date9th-10th century C.E.

MediumInk and gold on vellum

DimensionsOverall: 8 1/2 × 21 inches (21.59 × 53.34 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number44-40/2

On View

Not on view

Collections

South and Southeast Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionArabic language written in Kufic script
Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Exhibition of Persian Art, The Iranian Institute, New York, April 15-May 15, 1940, gallery 9, case 1, no. A as Calligraphy.

Echoes: Islamic Art and Contemporary Artists, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, August 31, 2013-April 27, 2014, no cat.

More Than Words: The Art of Calligraphy Across Asia, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, October 21, 2017-July 8, 2018, no cat.

Gallery Label

The Arabic script was designed to be beautiful due to its role in recording sacred texts. These religious folios are written in Kufic script, the earliest form of Arabic writing. To create pleasing proportions, the shape of the characters in Kufic are determined by the width of the calligrapher’s pen. This text contains verses from chapters 41 and 42 of the Qur’an. The bottom line reads, "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful." The verses are not continuous, suggesting that there were once other folios between these pages.

Provenance

With Kirkor Minassian (1874–1944), New York, by 1940 [1];

Inherited from Minassian by his wife, Mrs. Kirkor Minassian (née Antonette P. Clark (1874–1961), New York, by 1944 [2];

Purchased from Minassian by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1944 [3].

[1] Folio included in the 1941 Exhibition of Persian Art at the Iranian Institute in New York. Kirkor Minassian is credited as the lender. See Phyllis Ackerman, Guide to the Exhibition of Persian Art, exh. cat. (New York: The Iranian Institute, 1940), 244.

[2] Statement of ownership signed by Antoinette P. Minassian in 1944, NAMA curatorial files.

[3] Invoice dated August 16, 1944 from Mrs. Kirkor Minassian, NAMA curatorial files.

Published References

Phyllis Ackerman, Guide to the Exhibition of Persian Art, exh. cat. (New York: The Iranian Institute, 1940), 244.

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 2, Art of the Orient, 5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 159, (repro.).

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 402, (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 24-25, fig. 1, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.