Baghdad: Paper Makers
Date: 794-95
The first references to the use of paper in Baghdad come from the year 754-55. Paper was probably not produced in the city at this time. Paper mills were in operation in Baghdad from 794-95. See also: Bookbinders; Parchmenters; Papyrus Makers; Scribes; Painters.
Citation: Helen Loveday, Islamic Paper: A Study of the ancient Craft (London: Archetype for the Don Baker Memorial Fund, 2001), p. 20.
Date: 903-904
Al-Hilal al-Sabiʾ (d. 1056) in his Kitāb al-Wuzarāʾ records the imperial budget for 291 (903-904) in Baghdad. The craftsmen listed in this document include paper makers (warrāq). See also: Scribes; Bookbinders; Calligraphers; Painters.
Citation: Al-Hilal al-Sabiʾ (d. 1056) in his Kitāb al-Wuzarāʾ, ed. H. F. Amedroz (Leiden: Brill, 1904), p. 17. Translated in R. B. Serjeant, ‘Material for a history of Islamic textiles up to the Mongol conquest,’ Ars Islamica 9 (1942), p. 73.
B
Date: early twelfth century
The geographer, Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229) records that the paper makers of Baghdad worked in the Dār al-Qazz (Hall of Silk) at the beginning of the twelfth century. See also: Bookbinders; Parchmenters; Papyrus Makers; Scribes; Painters
Citation: Josef von Karabacek, Arab Paper. Trans. Don Baker and Suzy Dittmar (London: Archetype for The Don Baker Memorial Fund, 2001), p. 28; R. B. Serjeant, ‘Material for a history of Islamic textiles up to the Mongol conquest,’ Ars Islamica 9 (1942), p. 78.
B
Date: Second half of the sixteenth century
The Turkish scribe, Mustafa ʿAli (d. 1599) wrote that the best paper available in his time came from Baghdad, Damascus, and India. Mustafa ʿAli was known as a poet, and also worked in the Ottoman administration in Baghdad. See also: Calligrapher; Illuminator; Qurʾan Scribe; Scribe.
Citation: Milstein, Rachel. Miniature Painting in Ottoman Baghdad (Costa Mesa CA: Mazda Publishers, 1990), p. 2.