Researchers at the Zayed National Museum (ZNM) in Abu Dhabi have discovered characters hidden beneath the intricate gold leaf patterns on a page of the Green Quran.
According to Newsweek, the Green Quran is a famous 9th-century manuscript known for its indigo-dyed parchment pages, gold Kufic script, and elaborate silver decorations.
Nurul Iman Bint Rusli, a curator at ZNM, emphasized the importance of new technology in uncovering these hidden layers of history. “It is known that only one copy of the Green Quran still exists, and about 100 pages have been discovered so far, enough to captivate scholars for decades.”
“Advanced technology has been used to illuminate the content of this manuscript page and is helping to broaden our understanding of the creation process of such rare manuscripts of the Green Quran.”
The Green Quran is a famous 9th-century manuscript. (Photo: Newsweek).
Where Technology Meets Art
Utilizing advanced multispectral imaging technology, the research team has uncovered verses from the Surah al-Nisa that have been concealed beneath decorative patterns for centuries. This brings new insights into the creation of Islamic texts and the art of early calligraphers.
The Green Quran, dating from 800 to 900 AD, originally comprised 600 pages. Today, only about 100 pages are known to exist, scattered across private collections and museums worldwide. The exact origins of this text remain a topic of much debate, with North Africa, Iraq, or Andalusia considered the most plausible locations.
This discovery is significant as the advanced imaging technology allows researchers to uncover many texts and images that are not visible to the naked eye.
Analysis shows that the intricate gold leaf patterns serve not only decorative purposes but also aim to conceal some of the calligrapher’s errors.
These errors might include a repeated verse that was hidden by overlapping drawings instead of being corrected by replacing the page. Understandably, given the high cost of creating an indigo-dyed sheep parchment, replacing a page is both expensive and impractical.
Thus, this method of error correction provides a rare glimpse into the decision-making processes of the creators of the original manuscript, a topic seldom explored in the history of Islamic art.
Mai Al Mansouri, Deputy Curator at ZNM, also emphasized that these discoveries highlight the significance of the Green Quran, not only as a religious text but also 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 underscores its historical importance. Characterized by angular, geometric shapes, Kufic lacks the dots and diacritical marks that modern readers use to recognize characters.
Despite its rich aesthetic value, the complexity of the script makes it challenging to interpret these ancient characters today. Therefore, the museum’s research project and the new findings regarding this manuscript page contribute to a deeper understanding of early Islamic art and the dissemination of knowledge among cultures.
