2-738-875 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Quran Manuscript Folio (Recto); Illuminated Page, 1500s. The sending down of the Book is from God the All-mighty, the All-wise. Surah XXXIX: 1-3 The Quran is the sacred book of Islam. In the view of orthodox Muslims, it is the literal word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) in the Arabic language, and thus, recorded in the Arabic script. Because of its association with the divine word, Arabic calligraphy came to be a supreme art form in the Islamic world. As the quintessential symbol of the culture, it became a pervasive decorative element in Islamic art and architecture. Although secondary to calligraphy, a splendid tradition of illumination --that is, ornamentation with colours and gold-- developed to enhance the pages of the Quran. Because of the prestige associated with the book arts in the Islamic world, the decorative motifs employed by illuminators (scrolling vines, blossoms, lozenges, adn cartouches) found their way into other art forms, for example, metalwork, textiles, and carpets.