Advanced Imaging Uncovers Text Beneath Gold Leaf on Blue Quran
Using advanced multispectral imaging techniques, the team revealed verses from Surah An-Nisa, shedding new light on the creation of this unique manuscript, the museum's website reported on Tuesday.
Dating back to 800-900 CE, the Blue Quran is renowned for its indigo-dyed sheepskin pages, gold Kufic script, and silver embellishments.
The manuscript, originally comprising 600 pages, is now scattered globally, with only about 100 surviving sheets housed in private and museum collections.
Five pages are set to be displayed in Zayed National Museum’s Through Our Connections gallery.
The multispectral imaging revealed that the intricate decoration on this page was likely added to cover a calligrapher’s error, possibly a duplicated passage.
Starting anew on the costly indigo-dyed sheepskin was impractical, so the calligrapher opted to conceal the mistake with elaborate patterns.
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This discovery highlights the decision-making process of medieval calligraphers, a rarely documented aspect of manuscript production.
Nurul Iman Bint Rusli, Curator at Zayed National Museum, said, “Only one copy of the Blue Quran is thought to exist, and the 100 or so of its known pages have fascinated scholars for many decades. The advanced technology used to shed new light on this page of the manuscript is helping to provide additional perspectives on the production of this rare copy of the Quran.”
Source: Agencies
