Author
Ibrahim Babirbarzadeh.
Publication Date
12th/18th century
Publication Place
Turkey. -
Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Archeology
Subject
Leather and paper written on it with ink. It is gilded, decorated and illustrated.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 14.7سم؛ العرض: 9.5سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
MMI 1996:001
Record ID
object;ISL;se;Mus01;9;ar
Library Location
Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Archeology
Date
12th/18th century
Notes
This small book is a compilation of a group of religious texts that show popular beliefs and customs. Its content is generally based on the Qur’an, to which the first part of the book is devoted. The text begins with Al-Fatihah, the first surah, and ends with the last surah No. 114, but it does not include the entire surahs of the Qur’an. The text was written in the Muhaqqaq style and in the Naskh script, and the writing may have been done by two calligraphers, one of whom was Ibrahim Babir Barzadeh, whose signature appears in the last part of the manuscript. The text on each page is framed with a wide gold band and lines in black and bright red ink. The titles of the surahs are decorated, and the ends of the verses are marked with rosettes. The first part of the manuscript is followed by a selection of verses from the Qur’an. According to popular beliefs, the words of the Qur’an possess special powers due to their divine origin, and they help in case of calamities. The margins of the pages are also covered with text, and it is possible that notes in the margins explain the particular use of these verses and sentences against illness or poverty, for example. The names of God and the names of the Messenger are written on the following pages of the manuscript, which are also of special effect. Also common in this type of book are the prayers recited by the faithful, and the most impressive part is a set of colored pages showing the words “Allah” and “Muhammad” in gold script on a blue background, the imprint of the Prophet’s foot and the slippers he was wearing, scenes of Mecca and Medina, phrases with special powers, and the letters and names of God, all arranged in circles and squares to protect against the evil eye. The binding of the book is made of decorated reddish-brown leather. It has a golden central rectangle filled with a diamond-shaped pattern, while the inner part of the binding is covered with yellow glossy paper with a design of large leaves.
Sample Text
Friederike Voigt “Prayer Book” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;se;Mus01;9;ar
Bu sayfanın künyesi
Prepared by:Friederike VOIGTFriederike Voigt has an MA in Iranian studies, history of art and social science and is currently working on her doctoral thesis on wall tiles in architectural decoration of Qajar Iran. Since 2004 she has been a project-related curator at the Museum for Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm for Museum With No Frontiers. She studied at Humboldt University in Berlin, at the University of Tehran and archaeology at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. She taught Persian language at several universities in Germany. She was an assistant curator at the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Cultures at the Museum of Ethnology, State Museums of Berlin. Her main fields of interest are the material culture of Iran, especially of the Qajar period, and contemporary Iranian art.
Seçili bibliyografya
Islamische Kunst aus Privaten Sammlungen in Deutschland, Exhibition catalogue, Munich, 2000, pp.14–5.Turkish Miniature Painting and Manuscripts from the Collection of Edwin Binney 3rd, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, cat. no. 40.
