Codex, Siyu(?), 1829, Naskh with Thuluth elements · CallFront

Eastern Africa & Indian Ocean – Items

Codex, Siyu(?), 1829, Naskh with Thuluth elements

No media available 2.jpeg

csv

Item descriptor

Copyrights Holder: CallFront
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Entry ID: Kenya_ZH_01
Author: Zulfikar Hirji
Contributor(s): Nuria Garcia Masip
Date: Shawwāl 1244 H.; April 1829
Localization Exactitude Degree: Exact
Place of Production: Kenya, Lamu Archipelago, Pate Island, Siyu (?)
Present Location: Private Collection of James C. Armstrong, Ipswich, MA (USA)
Language: Arabic
Type of text: Quran
Color of the Script: black; red; white
Signature: Ahmed b. Mahani b. Quraysh b. ʿAlī b. Shaykh Ibn Aḥmad
Signature Role: copyist
Remarks (General Identification): The second volume of a two-volume Qur’an, beginning with Sūrat Maryam (Q. 19. Approx. 280 pages.
Type of Object: manuscript\codex
Size (of the object): 21.5 x 15.5 cm
Ruling (Manuscript): 10 lines
Technique: written
Remarks (Support): Leather binding - blind-embossed/punched. Possibly rebound.
Bibliography: Hirji, Zulfikar. “A Corpus of Illuminated Qurʾāns from Coastal East Africa.” Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 14, nos. 2–4 (2023): 356–95.

Script descriptor

See the lexicon

General Script Characteristics

Character Spacing: regular spaces between characters
Presence of Elongation: occasional
Elongated Letters: nūn, sīn/shīn, sād/ḍād, yā’, lām and qāf bowl; medial ligatures
Length of Elongation: varied length of elongations
Ligature: Abusive - rā’ and tāʾ marbūṭa; Abusive - wāw and hā' / tāʾ marbūṭa; Conventional - curvilinear
Shading / Contrast: medium contrast

Ascenders

Alif Ascenders: alif - non serifed
Lām Ascenders: lām - vertical; lām - non serifed
Kāf Ascenders: initial medial and final elongated (mabsūṭah); Initial /medial compact form diagonal body; top arm with final hook; Initial, medial and final shaft slightly inclined to left
ṭā' ẓā' ascenders: rounded body; vertical shaft no serif

Descenders

wāw descenders: wāw - short almost horizontal tail
rā' zā' descenders: rā'/zā' - short almost horizontal tail; rā'/zā' - s-shaped
mīm descenders: mīm - vertical downstroke; mīm - long curvilinear tail
nūn sīn shīn sādḍād yā’ lām and qāf descenders: elongated curvilinear deep bowl; deep bowl; nūn, sīn/shīn, sād/ḍād, yā', lām, qāf - crescent bowl
jīm ḥāʾ khā' and ‘ain ghayn descenders: backward tail; opening horizontal
yā’ al-rāji’ah descenders: backward horizontal stroke

horizontals

bāʾ tāʾ thāʾ fāʾ kāf horizontals: bāʾ, tāʾ, thāʾ, fāʾ, kāf - curvilinear flattened bowl; bāʾ, tāʾ, thāʾ, fāʾ, kāf - elongated curvilinear flattened bowl; short bowl

denticles

sīn shīn denticles: rounded base denticles
initial and medial bāʾ tāʾthāʾ nūn yāʾ denticles: initial perpendicular to baseline; medial short rounded denticles; leftward stroke with short hook

counters

hā' counters: isolated one-eyed round (mu'arrāh); initial / medial double eyed (wajh al-hirr); medial v-shape with bottom closed loop towards the right; final one-eyed (mardufah) inclined to left; final s-shaped (muḥdawdibah)
fā' qāf wāw counters: soft triangular head closed eye
medial 'ain ghayn counters: compact inverted triangle / open or closed eye
mīm counters: circular head

vocalization and diacritics

ḍamma vocalization and diacritics: oblique tail (10°-35°); open eye; closed eye
hamza vocalization and diacritics: small ‘ain
sukūn vocalization and diacritics: circle
shadda vocalization and diacritics: short denticles

Other

additional characteristics: Final dāl / dhāl crescent tail; final dhāl with point inside tail; Lām-alif two almost parallel strokes