The Rare Quran Manuscripts Exhibition is an exhibition showcasing a collection of rare Quran manuscripts featuring various scripts, designs, and artistic styles. It was organized by the King Abdulaziz Public Library in 2022 in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Contents of the Rare Quran Manuscripts Exhibition
The King Abdulaziz Public Library possesses a collection of rare Quran manuscripts, most of which were written between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, totaling 267 copies, including twenty museum-quality copies that are among the most valuable. Notable items include a scroll-shaped Quran measuring 642.5 × 17.7 cm, featuring Ayat Al-Kursi and intricate openwork decorations along its length, adorned with gilded and colored floral ornaments at both its beginning and end, with the main text enclosed within two gilded frames, as well as a copy by Fakhr Al-Din Al-Suhrawardi, dated 1867.
Calligraphic styles in the Rare Quran Manuscripts Exhibition
The Rare Quran Manuscripts Exhibition showcases a collection of rare Quran manuscripts distinguished by diverse calligraphic styles, including Naskh, Kufic, Thuluth, Timbuktu, and Sudanese scripts, as well as styles from Greater Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen. These manuscripts, dating between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, highlight the rich heritage of Arabic calligraphy across different historical periods.
Quran manuscripts in the Rare Quran Manuscripts Exhibition
The manuscripts vary in script, form, size, and ornamentation, featuring botanical and geometric decorations or embellishments with gold leaf and vibrant colors. They are written in black ink on square-shaped parchment leaves of different sizes, ranging from large to medium and small. Among the Qurans on display is:
- A manuscript from 1824, consisting of thirty pages, with each two-page spread forming a complete section of the Holy Quran. Its first page is adorned with colored floral decorations and gold leaf, while all pages are framed and gilded, written in Naskh script.
- Another Quran manuscript, transcribed from Surah Al-Fatihah to Surah An-Nas in Ramadan 1616 in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, facing Al-Kaaba Al-Musharrafa, is written in black Mudad script with diacritical marks in red and blue tables. This manuscript was produced by the scholar Mulla Ali Al-Qari.
- Another Quran from the nineteenth century includes the surahs of the Quran along with the book "Jawahir Al-Tafsir li-Tuhfat Al-Amir." It features multi-colored decorations in gold, red, blue, and green, with each page containing three rectangular sections: the smallest holding the Quranic verses, the middle for the interpretation, and the largest for decorative elements.
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