Pink Qur'an from Spain
Type:
Illuminated manuscripts,
Qur'ans
Date:
Thirteenth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Spain
Dimensions:
31.8 × 50.2 cm
Description:
A distinctive Qur'an on pink-dyed paper was copied in Granada or Valencia (Spain) in the thirteenth century. With only about twenty words on each page, the complete Pink Qur'an required twenty volumes in all. Its leaves are now dispersed among several institutions. The script is the rounded Maghribi script of western Islamic lands, and the paper was likely made in the mill at Xátiva. The rectangular page is unusual for the region, where the Qur'an was usually copied in a square format. As with the earlier Blue Qur'an, likely made in Tunisia, parchment dyeing was reserved for the most luxurious books. The preciousness of the Pink Qur'an is further underscored by the use of gold and silver to mark suras, verses, and vowels to ensure proper reading. This bifolium contains the beginning of the Light sura (24:1).
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
8,
9
Repository and Online Resources:
• The bifolium is at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
• Another folio is in the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto.
Image Credits:
J. Paul Getty Museum, Open Content Program
