Sacred Script Exhibit: Qur’anic Manuscripts from the 8th to 16th centuries in the Minassian Collection
Case #2 | Later calligraphic developments (post-1000 CE)
New calligraphic styles emerged with the start of the second millennium, paralleling both the growing influence of Persian cultural traditions within the Islamic world and the burgeoning political fragmentation of the empire among several rival caliphates, or ruling dynasties. While these were not necessarily geographically isolated movements, they represented a shift in the cultural reception of the Qur’an and the Arabic language more generally among those who were not ethnically Arab, and thus non-native Arabic speakers. This included Persians, Turcic groups, Berbers, and South Asians, among others. The diversification of the population now making use of Arabic script necessitated greater legibility and more fully articulated letter forms. Attention to exacting geometry and careful execution remained a primary focus of the scribe even as the script styles themselves evolved in response to this political and geographic diversification.
Qur’an, Surat al-A’raf [7] 81, 88, 141, 144 ink on paper, 2 bifolios
Qur’an, Surat al-Baqarah [2] …49-57… ink on paper
Qur’an, Surat al-Saba’ [34] …1-22… ink on paper
Minassian Collection, A98-3 Box 2: Folders 201, 144 and 150