Qur’an bifolium

These pages display a combination of Mamluk appearance, Ilkhanid features, and an unusual combination of scripts that suggest a Yemeni origin. The first and last lines of each page are written in various scripts: muhaqqaq outlined in gold; the middle line in gold thuluth outlined in black; though most of the text is written in black naskh. The Surah heading, composed of white Kufic within a panel set off by squares of gold interlace at each end, also sports a pear-shaped palmette that extends into the margin. Large rosettes indicate each verse within the text, while each fifth verse is marked by a gold pear-shaped device in the margin. Each tenth verse is identified in the margin with the word arshar (“ten”) inside a gold circle with blue border and radiating hair strokes.The complete bifolium covers approximately from Surah XVII (The Night Journey), verse 95 to Surah XVIII (The Cave), verse 25.The Asian collection is one of the great strengths of the Johnson Museum thanks to the vision of Martie Young, professor of the history of art and curator from 1959 to 1998, and the support of George Rockwell, Class of 1913, and Mary Rockwell, who not only bequeathed their collection to the Johnson but also left a financial legacy for acquisitions. The George and Mary Rockwell Fund has made it possible for the collection to grow from its original focus on China and Japan to an Asian collection that ranges in date from the most ancient times to the present day and covers a wide geographic span. (“Highlights from the Collection: 45 Years at the Johnson,” curated by Stephanie Wiles and presented at the Johnson Museum January 27–July 22, 2018)