Quran (Iran?, 1st half 16th century)

MS 201

One of Archbishop William Laud’s Qurans

‘The first sūrah [i.e. chapter] is written on two facing illuminated folios called ‘frontispiece pages. The title of the sūrah is written in white opaque watercolour and the text with a small Naskh script in black ink; the text-stops are blue opaque watercolour. The text is written in a small rectangular area with a scallop on each side, on a gilt ground. These text areas are then enclosed by intertwined gilt bands (decorated with black dots) that divide a rectangular area into 18 compartments with dark-blue, red-brown, or gilt grounds decorated with foliate vines. The rectangular area is enclosed in a frame of gilt plait work which is in turn enclosed by a wider frame decorated with intertwined vines and palmettes worked in gilt and blue. Folios 2b and 3a have illuminated head-pieces at the top of each text panel which contains the second sūrah. The final two sūrahs are also on two facing illuminated folios (331b-332a), executed in a similar style to folios 1b-2a, but apparently by a different artisan. ‘The text is written with frames formed of blue, red, black, and gilt fillets. The text-stops are gilt-filled circles with a black central dot and three red and three blue dots around its perimeter. There are circular medallions and pendants in the margins at various intervals; these are drawn in blue ink filled with blue, red, and gilt paint. The headings of sūrahs are written in white opaque watercolour on gilt ground with black ink vocalization, enclosed in rectangular frames of black, gilt, and dark-blue fillets.’ (Savage-Smith, p. 81)

Further Resources
Full digitization available at Digital Bodleian
Descriptive catalogue records available at our Digital Library (scroll down to MS 201)