A Survey on Design and Decoration of the Holy Qurans' Five-Verse Signs during the 1st -9th Centuries of the Hegira

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 M.A. in Art Research, Faculty of Art, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Faculty of Art, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Emergence of Islam and the importance given to Quran decoration by the Muslims and specifically by the Iranians, enhanced the artists' attempts to adorn the inscription of Quranic verses. Reciters used some signs to specify pauses or the end of the daily Quran reading which were ornamented by illuminators to add to the beauty of the Quranic verses. One of these signs is the Five-verse sign. Since the various styles of illumination in Quran manuscripts have formed a great deal of the country's art, in this study we are going to identify the decorative characteristics of the Five-Verse signs in the Qurans of the 1st-9th centuries of the Hegira. The research method was descriptive-analytical, based on library sources, observations and field research. According to the findings of the study, in the Qurans of the 1st-6th centuries of the Hegira, vegetal patterns drawn from the pre-Islamic era motifs; and a variety of floral sprays and arabesque motifs from the 7th century of the Hegira are recognizable in the Five-Verse sign designs.

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