Label Text:
The arts of the book derive their preeminent position in Islamic culture from the central role of the Quran, the sacred revelations, in Muslim life; a wide variety of literary texts, among them religious books in Arabic, were copied and disseminated; this small prayer book was clearly a luxurious copy of highly polished paper, bound in lacquer-painted covers, finely illuminated, and ruled in pigments and gold; the Arabic text is written in an elegant "nasta'liq" -- one of the most popular among cursive styles of writing; margin notes and commentaries in Persian are written in minute "shikasta" (broken style) script, an atenuated style of writing that is, at times, desperately difficult to read yet a favorite of both Persians and Indians; the margin notes on the open pages expound on the usefulness of certain prayers that invoke the help of Shi'i Imams, for example, in passing safely through deserts and seas or for protection against sultans and the kiss of the Devil; Shi'i doctrine deviates from orthodox Islam (Sunni) in the belief that 'Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, and his descendants were the rightful leaders of the community.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1990.2.29 |
