Baghdad: Calligraphers
Date: Early eleventh century
In his poem “Ode on the Art of Calligraphy” (Raʾiyya fi’l-khaṭṭ), the Baghdadi calligrapher, Ibn al-Bawwab (d. c. 1022) describes the processes involved in mastering writing, the preparation of inks, and other related skills. This poem is quoted in several later sources, including Ibn Khaldun’s (d. 1406), Muqaddima, while commentaries were also produced of the poem by Ibn al-Basis and Ibn al-Wahid. See also: Parchment Maker; Paper Maker; Scribe; Qurʾan Scribe.
Citation: Ibn Khaldun, Abu Zayd ʿAbd al-Rahman b. Muhammad. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, trans. Franz Rosenthal, Bollingen Series 43 (Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1958), II, pp. 338-39; James, David. “The commentaries of Ibn al-Baṣīṣ and Ibn al-Waḥīd on Ibn al-Bawwāb’s ‘Ode on the Art of Calligraphy’ (Raʾiyyah fī l-khaṭṭ),” in Kevin Cathcart and John Healey, eds, Back to the Sources: Biblical and Near Eastern Studies in Honour of Dermot Ryan. (Sandycove: Glendale Press, 1989), pp. 164-91.
Also: Milwright, Marcus. Islamic Arts and Crafts: An Anthology (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017), pp. 173-74.
Date: 1282
A single-volume Qurʾan in the collection of the sultan of Oman written by Yaqut al-Mustaʿsimi is dated to Shaʿban 681 (November 1282). The name of the illuminator is not recorded. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), p. 234 (cat. 36).
Date: 1301-1302
A single-volume Qurʾan written by Ahmad ibn [al-Shaykh] al-Suhrawardi [al-Bakri] was made in 701 (1301-1302) (ms. Chester Beatty Library 1467). The name of the illuminator is unknown, but Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-Abhari is given as the corrector of the text. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), p. 234 (cat. 37).
Date: 1304-1305
A single-volume Qurʾan (formerly in the Ahuan Islamic Art collection, London) written by ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Abi al-… ibn al-Fadaʾil al-Kashi in 704/1305-1305. The name of the illuminator is unknown. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), p. 234 (cat. 38).
Date: 1302-1308
A thirty-part Qurʾan, perhaps begun for sultan Ghazan Khan. The complete manuscript was produced between 701/1302 and 708/1308. The scribe is Ahmad ibn al-Shaykh al-Suhrawardi al-Bakri and the illuminator is Muhammad ibn Aybak ibn ʿAbdallah. Sections of the manuscript are today in numerous libraries. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), pp. 77, 79, 81, 82-85, 89-92, 235 (cat. 39).
Date: 1301-1307
Ibn al-Suhrawardi is the name used by a prominent calligrapher of who worked in Baghdad until his death in 1320-21. His name appears on a manuscript known as the Anonymous Baghdad Qurʾan. Ibn al-Suhrawardi used black muḥaqqaq script for this Qurʾan, which is completely monochrome in contrast to the accompanying polychromatic illuminations. He is said to have completed thirty three Qurʾans, and also recorded as having designed the inscriptions for buildings in Baghdad. See also: Paper Maker; Scribe; Qurʾan Illuminator.
Citation: James, David. Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press, 1988), pp. 79-80.
Date: 1311
A single-volume Qurʾan for the Mustansiriyya Madrasa in Baghdad is dated 710 (1311). The name of the scribe (who may also have illuminated the manuscript) is given as Sulayman b. Muhammad al-Jaylani (ms. Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi, Istanbul 238). The name of the illuminator is not included. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), p. 237 (cat. 43).
Date: 1318
A single-volume Qurʾan written by Ahmad ibn [al-Shaykh] al-Suhrawardi [al-Bakri] is dated Shawwal 718 (November 1318) (ms. Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi, Istanbul 486). The name of the illuminator is not included. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), pp. 80, 240 (cat. 48).
Date: 1320
A single-volume Qurʾan written by Arghun [ibn ʿAbdallah] al-Kamili is dated Ramadan 720 (October 1320) (ms. Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi, Istanbul K. 202). The name of the illuminator is not included. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), pp. 158, 159, 240 (cat. 49).
Date: 1323
A single-volume Qurʾan written by Mubarak Shah ibn Qutb is dated 723 (1323) (ms. Walters Art Gallery, Balimore W. 559). The name of the illuminator is not included, but may be Ibrahim al-Amidi. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), p. 241 (cat. 50).
Date: 1323
A single-volume Qurʾan written by Arghun b. ʿAbdallah al-Kamili is dated Safar 738 (August 1337) (ms. Bayezit Library, Istanbul 8056). The name of the illuminator is given as Muhammad ibn Sayf al-Din al-Naqqash. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), p. 245 (cat. 62).
Date: c. 1335
A single-volume Qurʾan written by Arghun b. ʿAbdallah al-Kamili was made in c. 1335 (ms. Chester Beatty Library 1498). The name of the illuminator is given as Muhammad ibn Sayf al-Din al-Naqqash. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), pp. 157, 166, 246 (cat. 66).
Date: 1340-41
A single-volume Qurʾan written by Arghun b. ʿAbdallah al-Kamili is dated 741 (1340-41) (ms. Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi, Istanbul K. 452). The name of the illuminator is given as Muhammad ibn Sayf al-Din al-Naqqash. See also: Bookbinders; Scribes; Painters; Paper Makers.
Citation: David James, Qurʾāns of the Mamlūks (London: Alexandria Press in association with Thames & Hudson, 1988), pp. 160, 167, 246 (cat. 65).
Date: c. 1599
The calligrapher, ʿAbd al-Baqi al-Mawlawi wrote the dedicatory inscription for the Mawlawi tekke (Mawlawīkhāne) in Baghdad. The calligrapher Nusayra Dede also worked in this tekke. See also: Calligrapher; Illuminator; Qurʾan Scribe; Scribe.
Citation: Milstein, Rachel. Miniature Painting in Ottoman Baghdad (Costa Mesa CA: Mazda Publishers, 1990), p. 3.