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Artist
CultureNigerian (probably)
Titles
  • Prayer Manual
DateEarly 20th century
MediumInk and opaque watercolor on paper
DimensionsSheet (each): 8 3/4 × 6 7/8 in. (22.2 × 17.5 cm)
Overall (book): 9 × 7 1/4 × 3/4 in. (22.9 × 18.4 × 1.9 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment
Object number2009.547
Current Location
The Caroline Wiess Law Building
112M Islamic Art Gallery
On view

Explore Further

DescriptionThis prayer book from Nigeria combines local and Islamic traditions. The Arabic is a variation of Maghribi script, the preferred script of North African Qur’an manuscripts. The vibrant colors that turn the calligraphy into lively decorative bands evoke Central African textiles. Following the trade routes connecting North Africa to the Sahel, the region of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, Islam began to spread across the African continent as early as the 9th century.
Provenance Research Ongoing Exhibition History"Islamic Art," San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, Texas, September 15–November 27, 2016.
Published References Black, Crofton, and Nabil Saidi. Islamic Manuscripts. London: Sam Fogg Rare Books and Manuscripts, 2000, cat. 68, pp. 190-91.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Bifolio from a Qur'an Manuscript
Unknown
15th century
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
2011.604
A Compendium of Religious Texts
Ahmad-e Neyrizi
AH 1134 / 1721-22
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; gold-colored pigments, metallic particles, and lacquer on pasteboard bookbinding
2012.470
Page from a Manuscript of the Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Jami
Sultan 'Ali Mashhadi
before 1520 and c. 1603
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
2017.436
Folio of Calligraphy
Fahri of Bursa
late 16th century
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
2017.490
Manuscript of a Tashrih-i Mansuri (Mansur’s Anatomy)
Mansur ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yusuf Faqir Ilyas
AH 1212 / AD 1797–1798
Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
2010.1504
Manuscript of a Rubaiyat (Quatrains) of Omar Khayyam
Mir 'Ali Haravi
16th–17th century
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; painted, gilded, and lacquered pasteboard binding
2010.1503
Alexander Feasting with the Emperor of China, Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami
Nezami Ganjavi
second quarter of 16th century
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
2013.102
Folio from a Qur'an manuscript
Unknown
late 9th century
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on parchment
2011.402
Qur'an Manuscript
Unknown
End of Rabi' al-Awwal, AH 718 AH / AD 1318
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on parchment
2007.1303
Al Fazl bringing water for Yahya Barmaki to make his ablution
Unknown
c. 1595
(A) Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper (B) Ink and gold on paper
2007.1198
A Portrait of 'Ali, Hasan, Husayn, and the Sufi Leader Nur 'Ali Shah Ni 'matullahi
Isma'il Jalayir
Second half of 19th century
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
2009.1143
Signed by Muhammad Isfahani, Portrait of Nasir al-din Shah (r. 1848–1896)
Muhammad Isfahani
AH 1272 / AD 1856
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
2014.1122
Unknown