Author Description

"This volume comprises a selection of papers delivered at the symposium "The Word Illuminated: Form and Function of Qur'anic Manuscripts" held at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery during 1-3 December 2016 and organized in conjunction with the exhibition "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts." Speakers investigated the materiality of luxury Qur'ans, from the lavish use of costly materials such as gold and parchment, the development of special scripts and intricate illuminated designs to the meticulously tooled bindings. In addition to examining the physical features of Qur'anic volumes, the authors examine the manuscripts in their artistic, historic, and religious contexts to understand more fully the transformation of these works into potent symbols of piety, political and religious authority, and into instruments of legitimacy. Over the centuries, many of the Qur'ans were offered as diplomatic gifts or taken as booty and endowed to mosques, tombs, and other religious complexes to perpetuate and transmit their exceptional baraka (divine blessing). As Qur'ans changed ownership, they also acquired a complex and layered after-life, which has further enriched their identity well into the present"--