Folio from the dispersed "Blue Qur'an"

Date9th century

Label TextThe gold letters and deep blue background of this Qur’an help the holy words of God—and by extension God Himself—shine like the light of the sun overcoming darkness. This effect would have been especially powerful when it was being ritually recited by flickering candlelight in a mosque. The color scheme was likely inspired by the Byzantine practice of writing luxury bibles and other documents in gold and silver on purple parchment. This monumental Qur’an is believed to have been made in Kairouan, a center of trade and Islamic scholarship in northern Tunisia. After it was no longer in use, the book was kept in the library of Kairouan’s Great Mosque

This blue Qur'an is a very early example of Qur'an manuscripts and Arabic-language script. The text is written in an angular and abstract style known as Kufic, a style of script named after the city of Kufa, in present day Iraq, where the script is thought to have been developed.

Except for the Kufic script, this page is completely free of decoration because representations of humans and animals were prohibited in Islamic religious art.

Later Arabic script includes diacritical marks -- the dots that differentiate one Arabic letter from another. This page lacks these important marks, which makes understanding the text almost impossible unless you already know the passage. Early Qur'ans such as this assume the reader has this knowledge. Later copies of the Muslim holy book attempt to make reading the Qur'an as clear and straightforward as possible.

Object number69.37

ProvenancePurchased from Mark Lansburgh, Colorado College, January 30, 1969

Photo CreditPhoto: Scott Leen

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, The Warp and Weft of Islam, Mar. 10 - Apr. 15, 1978. Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, July 28 - September 2, 1979. Patterns of Fiber: Textiles from the Seattle Art Museum Collection, December 18, 1980 - March 1, 1981 exhibition, December 18, 1980 - March 1, 1981. Utah, Provo, Brigham Young University, Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islam, Feb. 24, 2012 - Sept. 29, 2013. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view Feb. 8, 2020 - July 11, 2021].Published ReferencesSims, Dr. Eleanor, "The Heritage of Islam." Exh. Cat. and visitors guide, 1982. "Arts & The Islamic World." London: Islamic Arts Foundation, 1986. "Selected Works." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1991, p. 138. "Arts & The Islamic World." Islamic Arts Foundation,1996. "Writing Signs The Fatimid Public Text." University of California Press, 1997. "Seattle Art Museum: Bridging Cultures." London: Scala Publishers Ltd. for the Seattle Art Museum, 2007; p. 52. Al Khemir, Sabiha, "Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islamic Culture." Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 2012, pp 60-61, 201, illus. Sayre, Henry M., "Discovering the Humanities." New York: Pearson, 2016; reproduced p. 136. Kiley, Brendan. "Seattle Asian Art Museum is set to reopen – 3 years and $56 million later." Seattle Times, February 2, 2020: p. E4, reporduced. [A version of this article appears online on January 30, 2020 with the headline: "Step inside the reinvented Seattle Asian Art Museum, set to reopen after 3 years," https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/visual-arts/three-years-and-56-million-later-seattle-asian-art-museum-is-reinvented-and-set-to-reopen.]

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions9 3/4 x 13 5/8 in. (24.8 x 34.6 cm)

MediumGold and silver on indigo-dyed animal skin parchment