Islamic Art

Foundations of a Mamluk Qur’an

How a folio in the collection of the Art Gallery NSW represents a culmination of development in the Arabic script

Page from a Qur’an. Egypt, Mamluk Period, mid-14th century. Ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper. 41x32cm. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Gift of Connie Slater in memory of her husband Harold (H G Slater) 2003 (236.2003). Image courtesy of Danielle Brown, with permission.

The Mamluk Qur’an folio in the collection of the Art Gallery NSW (AGNSW: 236.2003) presents the culmination of 500 years of rapid development of the Arabic script, to a form that is still used in classical texts and copies of the Qur’an today.

Until the advent of Islam, Arabic was mainly spoken, not written. The Arabs had a strong oral tradition where poets were the celebrities of the day, eulogising history and performing functions of diplomacy (or antagonising enemies). Only a few select scholars and merchants knew how to read and write, and it was in this environment that the Qur’an was revealed. However, with the command “Iqra!”, importance was placed on recitation, learning and literacy. This lay the foundations for rapid development in the Arabic script and placed emphasis on calligraphy as one of the highest forms of art in the Islamic world.

However, the Qur’an remained predominantly a recited text that was learnt by heart: written copies were for private use as points of reflection or learning, but not as definitive copies. This changed in A.D. 633 after the battle of Yamama during the first caliphate…