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Leaf from a Qur'an (recto)
(1300s)
It is through the Arabic language that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the 600s. As a result, calligraphy is celebrated as the highest form in Islamic art. This page shows 13 lines from the Qur’an in muhaqqa script, one of the six main script types of Arabic calligraphy. The Qur’an’s importance explains the significance of calligraphy; however, the latter was not restricted to just religious texts. Many objects in the Islamic art gallery bear calligraphic inscriptions and come from secular contexts, displaying the versatility and creativity of this art form.
Qur'an Manuscript Folio (recto; verso); Left side of Bifolio
(800s)
Because of its connection with the Qur'an, calligraphy was elevated above all other art forms in the Islamic world. From an awkward and nearly illegible form of writing, Arabic script was transformed during the 600s and 700s to make it worthy of recording the Divine word. By the 800s, Muslim scribes were producing copies of the Qur'an that were true calligraphic masterpieces. This Qur'an, written entirely in gold, exemplifies the angular form of writing known as Kufic at its majestic best. The text on the right page is the opening of the Chapter of the Star (53: 1–21), which begins: "By the star when it plunges, your comrade is not astray, neither errs, nor speaks he out of caprice. This is naught but a revelation revealed, taught him by one terrible in power, very strong. . . ."
Top Cover for a Buddhist Manuscript (recto)
(c. 1700)
Palm leaf material is still used for manuscripts in Sri Lanka. The palm leaves are prepared first by boiling them, drying them in the sun, and then rubbing them with oils. Scribes then use a metal stylus to incise the text. Then charcoal powder is wiped across the pages, filling in only the inscribed lines.
Text page from a Materia Medica of Dioscorides
(c. 1224) Abdallah ibn al-Fadl (Iraq)
This page is from an herbal, an illustrated book on the properties of plants. Herbals were among the first manuscripts of the Islamic world to include painted figural imagery. The lines in red are titles signaling how to make a particular kind of medicine.

Initially written in Greek by a physician working for the Roman imperial army in what is present-day Turkey during the 1st century AD, the text was translated into Arabic during the 800s for a caliph who sponsored many translations of Greek scientific and philosophical treatises. This copy entered the royal Topkapi Palace library in Istanbul, from where 33 of its illustrated pages were dispersed to various collections.

The first recipe on the text page describes the production of a syrup used for coughs, chronic diarrhea, and the treatment of syphilis in women. It states that the herb wormwood should be added to give it a more pleasant smell. The second recipe is for a syrup made from pine nuts, and the third is used to relieve chest pains and coughing without fever. The painting on the reverse depicts a physician in red and his two assistants preparing a medicinal syrup thought to be good for digestion. In accordance with the instructions on the page, tar in the consistency of dough is to be washed in salt water, then plain water. The artist has shown the washing taking place in a great basin. The syrup is then boiled, as seen on the left, and ladled into a bowl for storage.
Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (verso)
(c. 1700)
Palm leaf material is still used for manuscripts in Sri Lanka. The palm leaves are prepared first by boiling them, drying them in the sun, and then rubbing them with oils. Scribes then use a metal stylus to incise the text. Then charcoal powder is wiped across the pages, filling in only the inscribed lines.