The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 8, 2025

Bookbinding for a Qur'an

Bookbinding for a Qur'an

1460–1500
leather over paper pasteboards; outer cover tooled, blue paint; inner covers openwork designs over colored papers
Overall: 36 x 81.6 cm (14 3/16 x 32 1/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1944.495
Location: not on view

Description

Islamic book covers generally have a triangular flap attached to the rear cover of the binding which is tucked under the front cover to protect the outside edge of the pages. The outer covers of this particularly elaborate example feature panels with Qur'anic inscriptions, interlace patterns, and a central medallion filled with floral and arabesque designs. The inner covers offer a superb example of leather openwork, a leather technique that originated in northeastern Iran in the 1400s.
  • ?-1944
    (Mrs. Kirkor [Antoinette] Minassian [1874-1961], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1944-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Islamic Art: Selected Examples from the Loan Exhibition of Islamic Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944. Reproduced: p. 40 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 721 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 224 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 224 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 282 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 228
  • Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956).
    Islamic Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 3, 1944-February 2, 1945).
  • {{cite web|title=Bookbinding for a Qur'an|url=false|author=|year=1460–1500|access-date=08 February 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1944.495