The composition of the text
Most manuscripts from the Islamic world
(irrespective of the language) share certain common
characteristics. The text almost always begins on
the verso of the first folio, about a quarter of the
way down from the top of the page.
In illuminated manuscripts this space is occupied by
a headpiece, which may carry the title of the book
in its central panel or the propitiatory formula “In
the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate”,
technically known as the basmalah or tasmiyah. This
formula constitutes a standard superscription in
most manuscripts. It is followed by the doxology
proper (“Praise be to God”), the amdalah. Sometimes
alongside the basmalah we find other invocations,
such as ya Fatta (“O Opener”), one of the numerous
epithets of God, or ya kabikaj – an expression used
for protection from worms and insects, the enemies
of books.
It was traditional to end the text with a colophon,
otherwise known as “the tail of the text”. Colophons
may contain such information as the title of the
book, the author’s name, the date and place of
transcription and the like. These colophons come in
all sorts of forms and sizes, the most common being
an inverted pyramid or a triangle.
bookbinding
Islamic manuscripts were traditionally bound in
leather with their covers flush with the edges. The
typical book cover was blind-stamped with a central
motif, such as a pointed star or mandorla, pendants
and corner pieces. The lower cover was provided with
an extension in the form of a pentagonal flap (lisan,
lula), which served as a protection for the
fore-edge of the volume and as a bookmark. Cover
designs having whole panels brushed with gold paint
are associated especially with Turkish and Persian
bindings of the 15th to 17th centuries.
Influenced by European binding techniques, later
books are often found without these flaps. Iranian
and Indian covers of the 18th and 19th centuries
were often made of lacquered papier maché with
elegant floral and faunal designs, and, not
infrequently, human figures.
Painted decorations
Manuscripts produced for patrons were often
elegantly decorated (illuminated) using geometrical
and vegetal (arabesque) motifs. The areas especially
favoured for illumination were the verso of the
first and the recto of the second folios, the last
page, and the title page, especially the ex libris.
Numerous manuscripts, especially those of the
Qur’an, feature double-page (mirror image)
frontispieces, richly decorated incipit pages, and
chapter headings.
Manuscripts of Persian and Indian provenance are
often characterized by richly illuminated headpieces
or entire double-page openings. Persian illuminators
tended to use more lapis lazuli than other colours.
On the other hand, we encounter a lot of brick red
ink and yellow gouache in Indian productions, and
generous use of gilt in many Ottoman productions.
Painted
illustrations
Although figurative illustration was disapproved of
in many Muslim circles, it features in a sizeable
number of Persian, Turkish, and Indian manuscripts
with miniature paintings. The most admired of all
Persian books, as regards illustrations, was the
Iranian epic Shahnamah (“The Book of Kings”) by
Firdawsi. Some of the most outstanding book
illustrations were made for this text.
Persian books of poetry and anthologies were also
favourites among book illustrators. The Khamsah by
Nizami Ganjavi (d.1202 or 3), as well as Yusuf va
Zulaykha (the well-known story of Joseph and
Potiphar’s wife) and Panj Ganj (“The five
treasures”), both by Jami (d.1492), are just three
of the most outstanding examples of books
illustrated by many famous artists.
Scientific works too were often heavily and expertly
illustrated, especially those on Medicine,
Astronomy, Cosmography, and Zoology. Interest in
hunting and animals in general prompted authors to
write books on falcons and horses and the artists to
illustrate them. The famous cosmographical work
(“The wonders of creation”) by al-Qazwini (d.1283 or
4), for example, contains numerous illustrations of
plants, animals and minerals.
the Preservation Project
A collaborative preservation project between ARA and McGill
came into being as a result of a mini-workshop in
the fall of 2003. The aim of this collaboration was
to construct custom-made book boxes for one hundred
manuscripts of significant cultural, historical and
artistic value. The project was developed over
several months in order to establish the
participating members, acquire conservation
supplies, identify funding sources for these
supplies, and decide upon the precise model for the
boxes, based on rare books conservation
requirements.
From a preservation point of view, conservation
boxes are an effective, permanent enclosure that
keep any book or object protected, stable and
secure. They are constructed based on the exact
dimensions of each book: height, width and depth. In
general, conservation boxes are a relatively
low-cost alternative for collection level
stabilisation in comparison to repairing the books.
More specifically, such boxes protect the items from
environmental elements such as dust, sun, and
fluctuations in temperature and humidity. They also
prevent abrasion and migration of degraded leather
from neighbouring items and offer protection during
handling and re-shelving. This is particularly of
value for Islamic bindings which traditionally were
not designed for vertical storage.
Thanks to the talented and enthusiastic ARA members,
but especially Anne-Marie Saint-Onge and Saskia
Roukema, the project got under way last June, so
that today we have over 60 manuscripts enclosed in
tailor-made-boxes, with more to come. We are very
grateful to Sylvie Bompis (National Archives of
Canada) for leading the training seminar, as well as
to the production team: Heidi Roukema, Hannah
Solway, Renée Lévesque, Annie Breard, Madeleine
Lajambe, Kevin Cohalan, Maria Sotériadès, Jennifer
Garland, Cécile Côté, Donald Hogan, Nicole Chalifoux,
Terry Rutherford, and Sacha Veillette.
Finally, we greatly appreciate the contributions of
the following donors, whose generosity made this
effort possible: Ismaili Community of Québec,
Canadian National Railway, IBM Canada, Scotiabank ,
Woolfits Art Enterprises, and Lee Valley Tools.
◄
1 2
END of PAGE 2
