Folio from a Qur’an Manuscript late 13th–early 14th century

This large folio comes from a magnificent two-volume Qur’an. In Spain, as in North Africa, Qur’an manuscripts and Qur’anic calligraphy retained archaic features long since abandoned farther east. Such features include the use of parchment instead of polished paper, a square format, and deep, rounded letter terminals, as seen in this example.