Researchers at the Zayed National Museum (ZNM) in Abu Dhabi have uncovered characters hidden beneath the intricate gold leaf patterns on a page from the Green Quran.
According to Newsweek, the Green Quran is a famous 9th-century manuscript known for its indigo-dyed sheep parchment, gold Kufic script, and numerous silver decorative details.
Nurul Iman Bint Rusli, a curator at ZNM, emphasized the importance of new technology in revealing these hidden layers of history. “It is known that only one copy of the Green Quran still exists, and the approximately 100 pages discovered so far have fascinated scholars for decades.”
“Advanced technology has been used to illuminate the content of this manuscript page and is helping to expand our understanding of the creation process of such rare manuscripts like the Green Quran.”
The Green Quran is a famous 9th-century manuscript. (Photo: Newsweek).
Where Technology Meets Art
Using advanced multispectral imaging technology, the research team discovered verses from Surah al-Nisa hidden beneath the decorative patterns for centuries. This provides new insights into the creation of Islamic texts and the art of early calligraphy.
The Green Quran, dated between 800-900 AD, originally consisted of 600 pages. Today, only about 100 pages are known to exist, scattered across private collections and museums worldwide. The exact origin of this text remains a subject of much debate, with North Africa, Iraq, or Andalusia considered the most likely locations.
These discoveries are significant because advanced multispectral imaging technology allows researchers to uncover many texts and images that are invisible to the naked eye.
Analysis shows that the intricate gold leaf patterns serve not only as decoration but also to conceal some errors made by the calligrapher.
These errors could involve repeated verses, which were covered up rather than corrected by replacing the page. It is understandable that the high cost of creating a piece of indigo-dyed sheep parchment made replacing a page expensive and impractical.
Thus, this error-correcting method provides a rare glimpse into the decision-making processes of the creators of the original manuscript, a topic rarely explored in the history of Islamic art.
Mai Al Mansouri, Deputy Curator at ZNM, also highlighted that these discoveries underscore the importance of the Green Quran, not just as a religious text but as an artistic and historical artifact, reflecting the connections between Islamic civilizations.
The Kufic script of the Green Quran, one of the oldest styles of Arabic calligraphy, further emphasizes its historical significance. Characterized by angular, geometric shapes, Kufic lacks the dots and diacritics that modern readers rely on for character recognition.
Although rich in aesthetic value, the complexity of this script makes interpreting ancient characters very challenging today. Therefore, the museum’s research project and these new findings about the manuscript page contribute to a deeper understanding of early Islamic art and the dissemination of knowledge across cultures.
