Almost seventy sumptuous manuscripts, created from Herat to Istanbul between the early eighth and the seventeenth century, are featured in The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts. Opening this fall, the exhibition is the first major presentation of Qur’ans in the United States. Celebrated for their superb calligraphy and lavish illumination, these manuscripts play a significant role in the history of the arts of the book in the Islamic world. The volumes were once the prized possessions of Ottoman sultans, queens, pashas, and viziers, who presented them as gifts to other rulers, as rewards to noblemen, or endowed them to important public institutions. Together, the manuscripts convey stories of personal piety and political power that are explored in this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition.
