Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Al-Qur’an al-Karim: Sacred Verses, Beautiful Pages

(from 8th Mar until 1st Jul 2012)

Discover the Qur’an as a source of artistic inspiration and expression in this selection of works on paper.

Detail of a page from a Qur’an in muhaqqaq, naskhi, and kufic script, Iran or Turkey, 1200-1400 (Mus
Reference URL

Actions

Send e-mail

Contact us about this object

Send e-mail

Send to a friend

The Attributes of Divine Perfection

  • Description

    In the words of the artist, Ahmed Moustafa, ‘the exact geometric basis of proportioned script does not simply provide a mathematical rationale for Islamic calligraphy, explaining why this art form is so harmonious… but it implies… that the Arabic script, like music, is a finely tuned abstract vocabulary embodying universal mathematical laws, and therefore has the power to have an objective moral and spiritual effect on the viewer.’

    A modern interpreter of Ibn Muqla’s geometric principles, Moustafa’s work continues the search for absolute harmony and convergence of content and form set by his predecessor. In this composition, a cube reminiscent of the Ka‘ba (Islam’s holiest shrine, located in Mecca) is built in such a way that, when open, it exposes exactly 99 units, enough to fit the 99 names of God mentioned in the Qur’anic quotation that covers the foreground.

  • Details

    Associated place
    EuropeUnited Kingdom England (probable place of creation)
    Date
    1987 (AH 1407)
    Artist/maker
    Ahmed Moustafa (born 1943) (designer)
    Material and technique
    inkjet on wove paper
    Dimensions
    77.5 x 68.5 cm sight size (height x width)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Accession no.
    EA2012.2

Past Exhibition

see (1)

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Notice

Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.

© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum