Upper cover of a bookbinding
Bookbinding
15th century (made)
15th century (made)
| Place of origin |
1 bookbinding: front cover
brown leather over paper pasteboards; blind and gold tooling
The inner rectangular panel contains elaborate floral decoration with a scalloped outline in almond shape in the centre. This is repeated in sections in the corners of the panel. Three types of flowers are shown on the sinuous stems which frame the almond shape. The main outer margin consists of a broad border divided into a number of panels with diagonal knotwork patterns. The pasteboards are made up of a large number of sheets of paper with naskh script in a variety of hands.
The back cover of this binding is 1070C-1869. A set of detached Koran leaves also in the collection (MSL/1869/7217) were probably part of the book this cover was made for.
brown leather over paper pasteboards; blind and gold tooling
The inner rectangular panel contains elaborate floral decoration with a scalloped outline in almond shape in the centre. This is repeated in sections in the corners of the panel. Three types of flowers are shown on the sinuous stems which frame the almond shape. The main outer margin consists of a broad border divided into a number of panels with diagonal knotwork patterns. The pasteboards are made up of a large number of sheets of paper with naskh script in a variety of hands.
The back cover of this binding is 1070C-1869. A set of detached Koran leaves also in the collection (MSL/1869/7217) were probably part of the book this cover was made for.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Upper cover of a bookbinding |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Detached binding, Front cover, Egypt, 15th century. |
| Physical description | 1 bookbinding: front cover brown leather over paper pasteboards; blind and gold tooling The inner rectangular panel contains elaborate floral decoration with a scalloped outline in almond shape in the centre. This is repeated in sections in the corners of the panel. Three types of flowers are shown on the sinuous stems which frame the almond shape. The main outer margin consists of a broad border divided into a number of panels with diagonal knotwork patterns. The pasteboards are made up of a large number of sheets of paper with naskh script in a variety of hands. The back cover of this binding is 1070C-1869. A set of detached Koran leaves also in the collection (MSL/1869/7217) were probably part of the book this cover was made for. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | Jameel Gallery
Book Covers
Egypt, probably Cairo
1400-1500
These enormous covers probably protected the Qur'an leaves shown below [i.e. MSL/7217/1869]. The border is filled with knotwork. In the main field a floral design runs between the central medallion and the quarter-medallions in the corners. This decoration was produced by applying small tools directly to the leather (tooling in blind) or through gold leaf (tooling in gold).
Leather over pasteboard, tooled in blind and in gold
Museum no. 1070A, C-1869
(2006) |
| Object history | Transferred from Art Museum to National Art Library. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Haldane, D., Islamic Bookbindings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1983.
pp. 38-39, pl. 18 and 20. |
| Other number | 38041701007528 - NAL barcode |
| Collection | |
| Library number | 1070A-1869 |
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| Record created | August 16, 2017 |
| Record URL |
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