DOHA: Top international Islamic manuscript scholars recently validated Sheikh Faisal Museum’s extensive and valuable manuscript and calligraphy collections.
Among these experts were Dr Nabil Safwat, Art Historian from Dubai, Mahmoud Zaki of the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts and ALECSO, Arab League of Nations, Professor Paul Hepworth, Book Conservator from Istanbul, Karin Scheper, Book Conservator at the University of Leiden, and Dr Nourane Ben Azzuna, Assistant Professor in Art history at the University of Vienna.
The Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani collection includes a number of manuscripts that have been obtained from many Arab and Islamic countries. These manuscripts are wide-ranging in terms of their provenance, subject matter and form. The prevailing notion about Arabic manuscripts is that they basically focus on religion and faith-related subjects. This is because these are the core subjects in much of Islamic literature found in national and private libraries including ones in mosques, zawiya and religious schools as well as the great old library of Timbuktu.
Contrary to this notion, a number of the manuscripts in the Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani’s collection cover many other topics such as science, philosophy as well as spiritual content. Some of these take the form of a whole series or a volume like the Canon of Medicine by Avicenna and Tazkirat Ouli Al-Albab by Dawoud Al-Antaki (No. 7445) in pharmacology which is full of detailed information on botany classification, diseases and treatment.
Professor Paul Hepworth said: “The participation in the practical session at the museum made a real contribution to the group. And, of course, it was so interesting to see the Sheikh Faisal Museum with so many different types of exhibits and its extensive manuscript collection.”
The scholars were shown some of the highlights of the collection, all beautifully illustrated in dramatic colours, with golden floral decorations on the pages and margins filled with medals and motifs. Iranian style manuscripts from the Safavid artists in India in purple, red and gold also featured in the visit.
Other exquisite manuscripts that were highlighted included an 18th century Quran from India in gold, red and blue ink with opaque pigments and patterns.
The collection on display also included a small illuminated 17th century manuscript from Istanbul that contains a famous poem in honour of the Prophet Mohammed and is popularly known as ‘Qasidat Al Burdah’ (the Poem of the Cloak), composed by Staraf Al-Din Muhammed Al-Busiri (died 694 HD/ 1294 C E).Karin Scheper, Conservator at the University of Leiden, said: “The collection reflects how Islamic Art decoration focuses on patterns, illumination and calligraphy rather than figures. This manuscript included invocations and verses from the Quran for pilgrims, from Turkey in the 19th century, that deal principally with the subject of Islam and the symbolic conception of faith, with content including invocations and illuminations in both Turkish and Arabic.”
“A book like this would be used during a pilgrimage, with this particular one being written in Naskhi script with coloured ink, and the text framed in gold. On the top of the page, there is a gilded panel with the name of the Surah (chapter) and the number of verses,” she added.
The Peninsula
