Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

Roxburgh, David J.

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Description: Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

BOOKWriting the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

David J. Roxburgh

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00180

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18099

The art of Islamic calligraphy developed from the 7th to the 14th century, beginning in western Arabia, spreading south to Yemen and north to the Near East, and continuing east and west to Iran, Egypt, North Africa, and Spain. This book demonstrates the breadth and beauty of Islamic calligraphy across centuries and continents, as seen in rare early folios of the Qur’an.

Noted scholar David J. Roxburgh begins by discussing the Qur’an, which Muslims believe to be the written record of a series of divinely inspired revelations to the Prophet Muhammad. He then analyzes Kufic script, the preeminent vehicle for writing early manuscripts of the Qur’an; reforms of calligraphy in the 10th century; and the great master Islamic calligraphers, in particular Yaqut al-Musta‘simi. The images of folios and bifolios validate Roxburgh’s conclusion that “the miracle of the text of the Qur’an found its equal in the technical mastery of the calligrapher’s practice, a miracle in its own right.”

Author

David J. Roxburgh

PublisherThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Print publication date October 2008 (out of print)

Print ISBN 9780300142006

EISBN 9780300247978

Illustrations 23

Print Status out of print

Publisher (out of print)

WorldCat

Google Books

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List of illustrations

Folio from a Qur'an in Hijazi script: sura 15 (al-Hijr), verso
Folio from a Qur'an in Hijazi script: sura 15 (al-Hijr), recto
Folio from a Qur'an in Kufic script: sura 42 (Al-Shura, "Consultation"), verso
Folio from a Qur'an in Kufic script: sura 17 (Bani Isra'il, "The Children of Israel"), verso
Folio from a Qur'an in Kufic script: sura 43 (al-Zukhruf, "Ornaments of Gold"), recto
Bifolio from a Qur'an in Kufic script, verso of right-hand folio and recto of left-hand folio
Folio from a Qur'an in Kufic script: sura 49 (al-Hujurat, "The Inner Apartments"), verso
Folio from the "Blue Qur'an" in Kufic script: sura 2 (al-Baqara, "The Cow"), recto
Folio from a Qur'an in Eastern Kufic script: sura 30 (al-Rum, "The Romans"), recto
Folio from a Qur'an in Eastern Kufic script: sura 4 (al-Nisa, "The Women"), verso
Bifolio from a Qur'an in Kufic script, verso of left-hand folio and recto of right-hand folio
Bifolio from a Qur'an in Eastern Kufic script from the Mushaf al-Hadina ("The Nurse's Qur'an"), recto of right-hand folio and verso of left-hand folio
Folio from a Qur'an in Eastern Kufic script from the Mushaf al-Hadina ("The Nurse's Qur'an"), recto
Bifolio from Qur'an in Maghribi script, verso of right-hand folio and recto of left-hand folio
Bifolio from Qur'an in Maghribi script, recto of left-hand folio and verso of right-hand folio
Folio from Qur'an in Maghribi script: sura 37 (al-Saffat, "Who Stand Arrayed in Rows"), verso
Folio from Qur'an in Maghribi script: sura 37 (al-Saffat, "Who Stand Arrayed in Rows"), recto
Bifolio from a Qur'an in rayhani script, verso of left-hand folio and recto of right-hand folio
Bifolio from a Qur'an in rayhani script, verso of right-hand folio and recto of left-hand folio
Folio from a selection of the Qur'an in muhaqqaq script: sura 6 (al-An'am "The Cattle"), verso
Folio with a selection from the Qur'an in muhaqqaq script: sura 27 (al-Naml), recto
Folio from a Qur'an in muhaqqaq script: sura 2 (al-Baqara, "The Cow"), verso
Fragment of a Qur'an folio in muhaqqaq script: sura 31 (Luqman)

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Contents

David J. Roxburgh

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

Contents

Author

David J. Roxburgh

PublisherThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00180.001

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18100

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Foreword

Peter C. Marzio

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

The exhibition and publication Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan would not have been possible without the commitment and support of Vahid Kooros. His dedication to expanding awareness of Islamic art provided the main impetus for these efforts. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is also grateful to him for soliciting the...

Author

Peter C. Marzio

PublisherThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00180.002

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18101

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Preface

David J. Roxburgh

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan is an exhibition composed of folios and bifolios from the Qurʾan. These examples highlight some of the chief developments in the art of calligraphy in the historical Islamic lands, beginning in western Arabia (the Hijaz), spreading south to the Yemen and north to the Near East, and on to points...

Author

David J. Roxburgh

PublisherThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00180.003

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18102

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The Qurʾan

David J. Roxburgh

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

The word qurʾan appears in the Qurʾan (al-Qurʾan: “the Muslim...

Author

David J. Roxburgh

PublisherThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Related print edition pages: pp.1-9

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00180.004

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18103

Chapter subject tags:Islamic calligraphy in artMuḥammad, Prophet, -632--In the QurʼanOrthography and spellingArabic languageCalligrapher

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The Kufic Script

David J. Roxburgh

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

This quote is one of several apt sayings—the authority being the peripatetic philosopher Yaʾqub b. Ishaq al-Kindi—cited by Ibn al-Nadim in his tenth-century survey of Islamic book culture. His book, the Fihrist (lit. “Catalogue,” completed 987–88), includes reports about the first people to write in Arabic, scripts used for copies of the Qurʾan, the names of...

Author

David J. Roxburgh

PublisherThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Related print edition pages: pp.13-21

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00180.005

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18104

Chapter subject tags:Islamic calligraphy in artMuḥammad, Prophet, -632--In the QurʼanOrthography and spellingArabic languageCalligrapher

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Reforms in Calligraphy and the Persistence of Tradition

David J. Roxburgh

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

During the tenth century several important changes were underway in the arts of the book. One such...

Author

David J. Roxburgh

PublisherThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Related print edition pages: pp.25-39

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00180.006

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18105

Chapter subject tags:Islamic calligraphy in artMuḥammad, Prophet, -632--In the QurʼanOrthography and spellingArabic languageCalligrapher

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The Legacy of Yaqut al-Mustaʿsimi

David J. Roxburgh

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qurʾan

The third great master calligrapher in the history of the “six scripts” (al-aqlam al-sitta) was Yaqut al-Mustaʿsimi (d. c. 1298). Writers in the Persian and Ottoman Turkish art-historiographic traditions inevitably name Yaqut as...

Author

David J. Roxburgh

PublisherThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Related print edition pages: pp.41-51

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00180.007

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18106

Chapter subject tags:Islamic calligraphy in artMuḥammad, Prophet, -632--In the QurʼanOrthography and spellingArabic languageCalligrapher

Access to this content is only available to subscribers. If you are at an institution that currently subscribes to the A&AePortal, please login to your VPN before accessing the site. If you have already purchased an individual subscription, please sign in to your account to access the content. Learn more about subscriptions.

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