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Qur'an Anthology
- Accession Number:AKM824
- Place:China
- Dimensions:27.5 x 20 cm
- Date:second half of the 18th century
- Materials and Technique:Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper
The fluid brushlike strokes of this calligraphic composition are written in the striking sini script developed in China by Muslim calligraphers. The folio on the right has the Qur’anic phrase subhan Allah (“glorious is God”) set in a background floral spray. The sweeping letter forms and particularly thin uprights seem to derive from a monumental thuluth script that was clearly adapted to a Chinese visual aesthetic in its sini form. The manuscript contains a compilation of Qura’nic suras and illuminations, including the decorative roundel, on the left, with a Chinese symbol of good luck at its centre. Islam spread to China from the middle of the seventh century mainly through trade and diplomatic exchanges.
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