  About the Artwork
  
  
  The Timurids ruled most of Iran and Central Asia for much of the fifteenth century. As patrons of the arts they established kitabkhanas (royal library-workshops) in Samarkand and Herat, producing luxurious Qur’ans (the holy book of Islam) as declarations of their piety. These Qur’ans, of imposing size, were written in a variety of monumental cursive scripts and illuminated with a rich repertoire of ornamental motifs. The delicacy and intricacy of expression achieved by the royal Timurid style dazzles the eye on this sumptuous object of veneration.
  
  
  Title
  Qur&#039;an
  
  
  Artwork Date
  1450 - 1460
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Iranian
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Ink, pigments, and gold on painted paper; binding: leather with gold and pigments
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall (book): 17 1/2 × 15 inches (44.5 × 38.1 cm)
  Overall (manuscript): 12 × 10 1/2 inches (30.5 × 26.7 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Manuscripts
  
  
  Department
  Islamic Art
  
  
  Credit
  City of Detroit Purchase
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  30.323
  
  
  Copyright
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