Leaves from the Nurse's Qur'an
Type:
Illuminated manuscripts,
Qur'ans
Date:
1020
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Tunisia
Medium:
Parchment
Dimensions:
44.5 × 60 cm
Description:
These pages come from the so-called Nurse's Qur'an, or Mushaf al-Hadina, commissioned by a female patron: Fatima, the nursemaid (al-hadina) of one of the Zirid rulers in North Africa. The colophon not only informs us of Fatima's role but also names 'Ali ibn Ahmad al-Warraq as the person responsible for writing, vocalizing (i.e., adding diacritical marks to the text to denote the vowels), and binding the book. Fatima had the book donated to the Great Mosque of Kairouan.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
6
Repository and Online Resources:
• Read more about this bifolium on the website of the Metropolitan Museum.
• See another bifolium from the same Qur'an in the David Collection, Copenhagen.
• Visit the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies' website for Islamic Manuscript Basics.
