Page of the Blue Quran

ca. 900

This page is from one of the most sumptuous ancient copies of the Quran to have survived to the present day. Consisting of seven volumes, it was probably produced in Kairouan, Tunisia, in the 9th or 10th century. The apparent simplicity of kufic calligraphy and the balance of the composition make it a work of great purity cadenced by the contrast between the gold and the midnight-blue background coloured with indigo. The idea of colouring was borrowed from the Byzantine imperial codices. The dark blue symbolises the celestial universe and the gilded letters the divine light spread by the word of God.

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