Frontispiece

Categorized as Terms

Frontispiece

Related Terms:

  • Colophon (brief statement about a book’s making)
  • Khatt (calligraphy)
  • Safina (oblong-shaped manuscript)
  • Tadhhib (illumination)

Related Khamseen Videos:

Marika Sardar, “The Gwalior Qur’an,” Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online, published 28 August 2020.

Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım, “The Birth Scene of Iskandar (Alexander the Great),” Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online, published 9 February 2021.

References:

Bağcı, Serpil. “A New Theme of the Shirazi Frontispiece Miniatures: The Divan of Solomon.” Muqarnas 12 (1995): 101–11.

Berthier, Annie et al. Manuel de codicologie des manuscrits en écriture arabe, 246–59. Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de France, 2000.

Gacek, Adam and Arne A. Ambros. “ʿUnwān.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, edited by P. Bearman, T. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Leiden: Brill, 1954-2005. 

Hoffman, Eva. “The Author Portrait in Thirteenth-Century Arabic Manuscripts: A New Islamic Context for a Late-Antique Tradition.” Muqarnas 10 (1993): 6–20.

Huart, Clément. “ʿUnwān.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition, edited by M.T. Houtsma, T.W. Arnold, R. Basset, and R. Hartmann, consulted online. Leiden: Brill, 1913–1936.

Polosin, Valery V. “ʿUnwan illumination in Arabic manuscripts (Part 1).” Manuscripta Orientalia 8, no. 2 (2002): 12–19.

Tanındı, Zeren. “Illumination and decorative designs in Qurʾanic manuscripts.” In The Art of the Qurʾan: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, edited by Massumeh Farhad and Simon Rettig, 98–117. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2016.

Worksheet:

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Citations:

Marika Sardar, “Frontispiece,” Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online, published 3 September 2021.

Marika Sardar is an independent scholar who has held curatorial positions at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Major exhibitions include Interwoven Globe (2013), focusing on the worldwide textile trade from the 16th-18th century; Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1750 (2015), examining the artistic traditions of the Muslim sultanates of central India; and Epic Tales from Ancient India (2016), looking at narrative traditions and the illustration of texts from South Asia.