Author
Made by Muhammad bin Sanqar al-Baghdadi, and grafted by Hajj Yusuf bin al-Ghawabi.
Author Original
صنع محمد بن سنقر البغدادي، وتطعيم الحاج يوسف بن الغوابي
Publication Date
About 730/1330
Publication Place
-
Museum of Islamic Art
Subject
Bronze sheets on wooden panels inlaid with gold and silver.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 27 سم؛ العرض: 42.5 سم؛ العمق: 42.5 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
I. 886
Record ID
object;ISL;de;Mus01;31;ar
Library Location
Museum of Islamic Art
Date
About 730/1330
Notes
This box was made to store a thirty-volume Qur’an. It is believed that this was done based on a commission from one of the Mamluk sultans or one of the senior notables to donate it to the benefit of a religious endowment (mosque, school, or shrine). This box, which rests on four legs, consists of a wooden box covered with sheets of yellow copper. The cover, which resembles a platform in shape, is fixed by two hinges on the back wall and has a buckle on the front side into which the lock enters. All the brass plates are decorated with inscriptions inlaid with gold and silver. As for the inside of the box, it is covered with cloth and divided into two rooms, each with fifteen sections, to place the Qur’an in it. The outer edges contain beautiful Arabic inscriptions in Kufic script and thuluth script on a ground bearing small floral drawings with lotus flowers beneath them. Along the outer sides we see Qur’anic verses (verse 35 of Surat Al-Nur, and verse 255 of Surat Al-Baqarah, which is the verse of the Throne). In addition, there are other verses on the cover and on the narrow friezes (verses 26-27 of Surat Al Imran, verses 192-199 of Surat Al-Shu’ara’, verses 76-89 and 92-95 of Surat Al-Waqi’ah, and verses 22-24 of Surat Al-Hashr). The lower side is decorated with geometric decorations. There is no mention of names on this box, and the thirty parts of the Qur’an no longer exist. Two similar chests dating back to around 730/1330 are still preserved in Cairo. One of them bears the name of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir and is dated 723/1322 and is preserved in the library of Al-Azhar Mosque. As for the other, it does not bear a date and is preserved in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. During the Mamluk era in Egypt, the Qur’ans were usually kept in boxes or on metal chairs, and only a few of these Qur’ans remain due to continuous use.
Sample Text
Jens Kröger “Qur’an Box” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;de;Mus01;31;ar
