24 April 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Researchers have unveiled text concealed beneath an intricate decorative layer of gold leaf on a page of the famous Blue Qur’an

Using multispectral imaging techniques, researchers from the Zayed National Museum have uncovered text hidden beneath an intricate layer of gold leaf on a page of the Blue Qur’an, one of the world’s best-known Quranic manuscripts.

The team uncovered verses from Surah al-Nisa under an intricate layer of gold leaf ornamentation on a page of the Blue Qur’an, one of the most important examples of Islamic calligraphy.

Surah al Nisa focuses on the rights of women, the law of inheritance, care for orphans, lawful and unlawful women to marry, and standing for justice.

The Blue Qur’an is a copy of the Qur’an dating from 800-900 CE. The manuscript is known for its distinctive vivid blue or indigo pages, silver decoration, and gold Kufic calligraphy. Its palette is thought to refer to the purple‑dyed, gilded manuscripts made in the neighboring Byzantine Empire.

The text is written in Kufic script. As in other early Qur’ans, the script here is difficult to read because the letters have been manipulated to make each line the same length, and the marks necessary to distinguish between letters have been omitted.

 It originally comprised 600 sheets, each made from sheepskin. Leaves from the manuscript have been known to scholars since the early years of the 20th century, but it first came to wide scholarly attention in the 1970s, following the publication of several leaves in such international exhibitions as the Arts of Islam at the Hayward Gallery in London. It was attributed either to ninth-century Iran or Tunisia, where the bulk of the manuscript was said to remain. Some scholars have suggested that the manuscript could have been produced in Umayyad Spain, Kalbid Sicily, or Abbasid Iraq.

Image Credit: Zayed National Museum

 Today, only around 100 pages are to be found in private and museum collections around the world, five of which will be displayed at the Zayed National Museum.

The pages were examined using multispectral imaging, a technique that can reveal text and images that have faded over time and are no longer visible to the human eye.

The ornamentation in this instance might have been incorporated to correct a calligrapher’s own mistake, which could have involved copying the text of a page of the sacred script. Because the cost of producing the manuscript would have been too high to justify beginning anew on a fresh sheepskin sheet dyed in indigo, the text was covered with elaborate patterns.

These actions resulting from decisions made by calligraphers is an aspect of manuscript production that has never been highlighted for the Blue Qur’an before and is exceedingly rarely seen in Islamic manuscripts of this age.

Mai Al Mansouri, Associate Curator, Zayed National Museum said in a press release: “Zayed National Museum’s groundbreaking research on the Blue Qur’an sheds new light on the origins and production of this important manuscript and underlines the role of the museum in the cultural and academic life of the UAE and beyond.”

Folio in the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. CC BY-SA 3.0

Nurul Iman Bint Rusli, Curator,  Zayed National Museum said in a press release:: “Only one copy of the Blue Qur’an is thought to exist and the 100 or so of its known pages have fascinated scholars for many decades. The advanced technology used to shed new light on this page of the manuscript is helping to provide additional perspectives on the production of this rare copy of the Qur’an.

This page of the Blue Qur’an will be displayed in the Zayed National Museum’s Through Connections gallery. The gallery highlights how the people of the ancient emirates expanded their horizons, how new materials, technologies, and knowledge affected their lives, how Islam spread, and how the Arabic language evolved.

Zayed National Museum

Cover Image Credit: Folio from the “Blue Qur’an” (MET 2004.88)

Related Articles

Mosaics found in Türkiye’s Sinop belong to dining room of a wealthy family

24 June 2023

24 June 2023

The pebble mosaics unearthed during the excavation of a building complex in the province of Sinop on Turkey’s Black Sea...

3000 years old wooden wishing well discovered in Germany

7 January 2023

7 January 2023

In the town of Germering, in the Germany state of Bavaria, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a well-preserved Bronze...

Sumatran fishing crews may have found the legendary Gold Island in the Mud of the Indonesian River

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

The site of the Srivijaya kingdom, known in ancient times as the Island of Gold, may have been found by...

Urartian graves in eastern Turkey pointing out novel burial traditions

21 September 2021

21 September 2021

The excavations in Cavuştepe castle continue with the excavations in the necropolis this year. Two new tombs from the Urartian...

“Secret” Excavations in Luxembourg Reveal 141 Roman Gold Coins from Nine Roman Emperors

13 January 2025

13 January 2025

Archaeologists uncovered a Roman gold coin hoard of 141 Roman gold coins dating to the second half of the 4th...

Deer stone discovered in Kyrgyzstan

10 April 2023

10 April 2023

A deer stone was found in the Tarmal-Sai settlement in the Kochkor district of the Naryn region in eastern Kyrgyzstan....

Archaeological excavations started again after 50 years in Tunceli Tozkoparan mound

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Archaeological excavations at the Tozkoparan Mound in Turkey’s Tunceli province are anticipated to turn the city into one of eastern...

4000-year-old Palace complex dating from China’s earliest known Xia dynasty unearthed

30 December 2023

30 December 2023

In Xinmi, in the Henan Province of Central China, a four-courtyard style palace complex from the Xia Dynasty (2070BC–1600BC), China’s...

Egyptian archaeologists discovered 16 meters long ancient papyrus with spells from the Book of the Dead

19 January 2023

19 January 2023

Archaeologists working in Egypt’s Saqqara region have unearthed a 16-meter-long ancient papyrus for the first time in a century. Saqqara...

Artvin Demirkapı/Arılı rock paintings give information about Anatolian Bronze Age Nomadic

14 December 2021

14 December 2021

Rock paintings are material cultural assets that provide us with unique information about the socio-cultural structure, religious beliefs, and rituals,...

Stonehenge’s Altar Stone May Be From Scotland, Over 700 Kilometers Away

14 August 2024

14 August 2024

Recent research led by Curtin University suggests that the Altar Stone at Stonehenge may have originated in northeast Scotland, at...

Archaeologists have discovered a treasure trove of sixth-century coins in ancient Phanagoria in Russia

27 July 2021

27 July 2021

Archaeologists have discovered 80 coins known as Copper staters dating back to the sixth century at Phanagoria on the Black...

New Study Reveals the Contribution of Female Scribes in Medieval Manuscript Production

2 April 2025

2 April 2025

A recent study sheds light on the often-overlooked contributions of women in the production of handwritten manuscripts during the Middle...

Thousands of ignored ‘Nummi Minimi’ Coins Found in the Ancient City of Marea in Egypt

11 December 2023

11 December 2023

Numismatists from the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw have examined thousands of previously ignored small coins (Nummi...

Marvelous Marble Floor Of Sunken Roman Villa Restored in Bacoli

19 July 2024

19 July 2024

In Bacoli, Italy, an underwater restoration project has uncovered the marvelous marble floor of a submerged Roman villa. This remarkable...