Political No. 16 of 1874, Acknowledging a Despatch from the Secretary of State for India on the Murder of Major Macdonald, and Forwarding Copies of Papers Relating to Measures Put in Place in the North-West Frontier of the Punjab
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Political No. 16 of 1874, Acknowledging a Despatch from the Secretary of State for India on the Murder of Major Macdonald, and Forwarding Copies of Papers Relating to Measures Put in Place in the North-West Frontier of the Punjab
Political No. 159 of 1874, Forwarding a Copy of Correspondence Relative to the Imposition, by the Government of Fars, of a Tax which, though Nominally Levied from Muleteers, in Reality Falls on the Owners of Goods
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Political No. 159 of 1874, Forwarding a Copy of Correspondence Relative to the Imposition, by the Government of Fars, of a Tax which, though Nominally Levied from Muleteers, in Reality Falls on the Owners of Goods
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
14th-15th centuries, Qur'an verses in Muhaqqaq script from Iraq or Mamluk era Egypt.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 17 (w) x 27.3 (h) cm
- Say: "Come, I will rehearse what God has really prohibited you from:" / Join not anything as equal with Him; / Be good to your parents; kill not your children / On a plea of want [...] (6:151)
- Say: "With God is the argument that reaches home: / If it had been His Will, he would have guided you all." (6:149)
- The text is calligraphed in clear muhaqqaq script at five lines per page, bound by a delicate frame consisting of several lines executed in gold and black ink. Muhaqqaq undoubtedly was the favorite cursive script of calligraphers who copied Qur'ans during the 14th-15th centuries (Lings and Safadi 1976, 50). The script and text layout are typical of Qur'ans of this period executed in Iraq and Mamluk Egypt (James 1992a, cat. nos. 24, 34, and 37; and James 1988).
- The verse markers consist of seven-petalled gold rosettes decorated with red and blue dots. One of the markers even breaks out of the text frame at the top left corner. In the upper left corner appears a gold roundel marking a tenth verse ('ashar) as well. The paper is white and quite thin, causing the text on the folio's verso to show through.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
10th century, Qur'anic verses 1-6 of the 69th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Haqqah (The Truth), written in Kufi (New Syle III) from the 10th century.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 6 (w) x 8.1 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 6 (w) x 8 (h) cm
- The chapter title of Surat al-Haqqah at the top left of the bifolio is executed in gold ink. It provides the surah's title and number of verses, and ends in an ornate gold and red marginal palmette that has been slightly lost due to cropping. Verse markers consist of gold flowers with red dots, while ayah markers marking every fifth verse (e.g. right side, 4th line) are shaped like a gold droplet or the Arabic letter ha (h).
- The text is written in Kufi (New Syle III). Red dots indicate vocalization, while vowel signs and orthoepics (pronunciation marks) were added in black ink at a later date. One dot below the letter ra (r) serves to differentiate it from the zayn (z). The script, vocalization marks, and vertical format show some of the advances in Kufi calligraphy and Qur'an production during the 10th century (see (Déroche 1992: 144-145, cat. no. 79).
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
9th century, Qur'anic verses 61-73 of the 10th chapter of the Qur'an entitled Surat Yunus (Jonah), written in Kufi script related to the D.IV style, on parchment during the 9th cent.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 22 (w) x 15.2 (h) cm
- The fragment seems to have been kept folded in two, as evidenced by the crease in the folio's center. Moreover, an inscription in the top left corner of the fragment's verso reads mutafariqa sishom ("sixth miscellaneous"), suggesting that an art dealer numbered the fragment and organized it according to his collection of "miscellaneous" Qur'anic fragments.
- The text is executed in Kufi script in black ink at sixteen lines per page. The text on the folio's recto is well preserved, as it is executed on the hair side of the parchment. On the other hand, the text on the folio's verso has been lost due to having been written on the flesh side. Diacritics appear as red dots, and there are no verse markers except for a simple red circle located between verses 70 and 71 on the fragment's verso. This ayah marker, however, appears to have been added at a later date.
Commentary to the "Kitab Sibaywahi" with illuminated panels
Commentary to the "Kitab Sibaywahi" with illuminated panels
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
14th-15th centuries, Commentary to the "Kitab Sibaywahi" a treatise of Arabic grammar composed by the famous early Kufan grammarian Sibaywahi (d. 188/793), with illuminated panels, created in the 14th or 15th century, written in the Naskh script.
- Although the fragment is neither dated nor signed, the illuminated panel and the Persian naskh on its verso suggest that the work may have been executed in Persia (Iran) sometime during the 14th or 15th century.
- Dimensions of Illumination Panels: 5.8 (w) x 11.1 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: 4 (w) x 10.4 (h) cm
- For further information on the "Kitab Sibaywahi", see Michael G. Carter, "Sibaywahi" (London and New York: Oxford Center for Islamic Studies and I.B. Tauris, 2004).
- The illuminated panel includes four rectangular registers above and below the gold medallions, in which the bismillah ("In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful") is inscribed in gold Kufi script on a blue background decorated with gold arabesques. All around the illuminated panels appear marginal finials painted in blue. The two illuminated panels are separated by a crease in the beige rag paper where the folio originally would have been folded in two. In the upper horizontal appear two water stains equal in size and shape (due to the original fold). In the lower horizontal, a note or owner's mark seems to have been erased, and the word 'unvan (title[?]) added in black ink to identify the illuminated panels' function.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
Arabic and Persian verses of poems in nasta'liq script.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: (including outside panels) 21.3 (w) x 30 (h) cm
- Do not deprive me, / My God and Lord, / Of his great intercession, / For he is the only intercessor.
- If you forgive me / Your forgiveness will save me / Otherwise I am damned / By the perishing sin.
- My God, through the intercession / Of the Hashimite Prophet / And his holy family, / Resurrect me according to / The religion of Muhammad / In purity and humility.
- The Arabic and Persian verses are executed in nasta'liq script, also known as ta'liq (in Turkey) and Farsi (in Arab lands). The term nasta'liq combines the scripts naskh (cursive) and ta'liq (hanging), a grouping of two scripts believed to have been invented by the 14th-century Persian calligrapher Mir 'Ali Tabrizi (Zakariya 1979, 30). It is a script that has been practiced from that time until today, so it is impossible to establish with certainty the date of this fragment. Nevertheless, this calligraphic fragment may have been produced in Persia (Iran) during the 16th century.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
9th century, Qur'anic verses 57-59 of the 27th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Naml (The Ants), written in Kufi script similar to style D from the 9th century.
- And We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone). / And evil was the shower on those who were admonished, but heeded not. (27:58)
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 14.5 (w) x 9 (h) cm
- Say, praise be to God and peace upon His servants / Whom He has chosen (for His Message). / Who is better? God or the false god they associate with Him? (27:59)
- Surat al-Naml describes the wonders of the spiritual world. The stories of a number of prophets, such as Moses, Solomon, Salih, and Lut (Lot) are offered in order to distinguish true from false worship, and highlight the miracles of God's grace and revelation. In the story of Lot, those who are lustful will suffer God's punishment:
- The text is executed in a Kufi script similar to style D of Qur'ans produced during the 9th century (see inter alia Déroche 1992: cat. nos. 19, 22, and 24). With five lines per page executed in black ink, this fragment follows the horizontal format of early Qur'ans made on parchment. The ink has worn off the verso due to having been executed on the flesh side of the parchment. Red dots indicate vocalization, while diacritics made of diagonal lines in black ink may have been added at a later date. On the second and fourth lines of this fragment appear two verse markers separating verse 57 from verse 58 and verse 58 from verse 59. They consist of small gold circles stippled with tiny gold and blue dots.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
13th-14th centuries, Qur'anic verses 78-80 of the 12th chapter of the Qur'an entitled Yusuf (Joseph), written in Muhaqqaq script suring the Ilkhanid period (1256-1353) in Iran.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 23.3 (w) x 35.3 (h) cm
- Qur'ans executed in gold muhaqqaq script outlined in black at five lines per page and provided with radial verse markers similar to this fragment were produced during the Ilkhanid period (1256-1353) in Iran. For example, the Qur'an made for Sultan Oljeitu (r. 1304-16) bears similarities to the fragment in the Library of Congress (James 1988, 99).
- Surat Yusuf narrates in detail the story of the Prophet Joseph and uses it as a parable for divine love. These particular verses (69-93) describe Joseph's conviction of his half-brothers and his request to bring Jacob and the whole family from Canaan to Egypt.
- The text is written in muhaqqaq script and is fully vocalized. The letters are executed in gold and outlined in black ink. Only one slightly cropped verse marker appears at the center of the upper part of the folio: it is gold disk decorated with red and blue designs on its perimeter. In the left margin appear diagonal inscriptions in Persian, which provide a posteriori commentary on the Qur'anic text.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
9th-10th centuries, Qur'anic verses 87th chapter of the Qur'an entitled Surat al-A'la (The Most High), Written in the Kufi script style C.II, produced during the 9th-10th cent.
- As not enough space was left for the last two words (wa musa) of Surat al-A'la, these appear within the illuminated chapter heading of the subsequent chapter, i.e., Surat al-Ghashiyah. The panel includes the name of the surah and the number of verses (26) written in gold ink and decorated by a series of green ornamental motifs placed in two horizontal bands. The marginal gold finial on the right has been partially lost.
- By degrees shall We teach you to declare the message so that you shall not forget / Except as God wills: for He knows what is manifest and what is hidden. (87:6-7).
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 23 (w) x 15 (h) cm
- Surat al-Ghashiyah comprises 26 verses and also dates from the Meccan period. It largely describes the events that will take place on the Day of Judgment.
- The fragment's script and ayah markers are related to style C.II typical of Qur'ans produced during the 9th-10th centuries (Déroche 1992, 61, cat. no. 14).
- The illuminated chapter heading of Surat al-A'la, which is located at the very top of the flesh side (recto) of the parchment, has suffered considerably. The title seems to have been slightly repainted, while the gold rectangular frame and marginal decoration in the left border remain in better condition. Much like the chapter heading of Surat al-A'la, the verses of the chapter executed in black ink are barely legible now. However, diacritics in red ink and verse markers consisting of three gold dots are still visible.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
11th-12th centuries, Qur'anic verses 12-16 of the 4th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Nisa' (The Women), written in Kufi script (New Style I) during the 11th-12th centuries.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 22 (w) x 28.5 (h) cm
- Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 22.3 (w) x 28.5 (h) cm
- If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, / Take the evidence of four (reliable) witnesses / From among you and against them. / And if they testify, confine them to their houses / Until death claims them, / Or God ordain for them some (other) way. If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, / Punish them both. / If they repent and amend, / Leave them alone. / For God is Returning and Merciful. (4:15)
- No verse markers appear on this fragment. However, the verso of 1-89-154.176b includes an ayah marker constructed as a plain six-petalled flower decorated by a central red dot and marked on its perimeter by alternating red and gold circles.
- Script: Kufi (New Style I)
- The text is executed in Kufi script (New Style I) with thick strokes of black ink, and vowels are marked by red dots. Some diagonal lines representing diacritical marks were added at a later date. The script is typical of Qur'ans executed during the 11th-12th centuries (Déroche 1992: 172-3, cat. no. 90).
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
11th-12th centuries, Qur'anic verses in eastern Kufi script, Iraq or Iran, 10th to the 13th centuries.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 8 (w) x 15.5 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 8 (w) x 15.5 (h) cm.
- Pharaoh said: "O Haman, build me a lofty palace so that I may find the ways and means of reaching the skies and that I may mount up to the God of Moses".
- The use of the term "Qarmathian" for this particular style of eastern Kufi script has never been explained satisfactorily. It seems connected to the Qaramitah, a group of Isma'ilis based in the Gulf area that refused to recognize the claims of the Fatimid caliphs to the imamate (r. 909-1171). Perhaps due to this geographical and chronological link, the script--associated with Qur'an production of Iraq and Iran from the 10th to the 13th century-- gained its appellation "Qarmathian".
- These verses are executed on brown paper in a script known as Qarmathian, a style of eastern Kufi with high vertical shafts and letters assuming a more triangular shape (Lings and Safadi 1976: 34-35, no. 39) than plain eastern Kufi. In some of the more elaborate Qur'ans made in Iran during the 12th century, the script appears on a background of arabesque scrolls and spirals executed in light brown ink (MET 1987: 32-33). In this fragment, the five lines of script executed on a high vertical appear on a plain piece of paper, whose only decoration consists of a verse marker in red and gold on the left side of the second line.
