The Monumental Qur’āns of Sultan Shaʿbān

Abstract

This article focuses on the seven monumental Qur’āns made during the reign of Sultan al-Ashraf Shaʿbān II (r. 1363–1378), considered to be the masterpieces of the Mamluk arts of the book. These are MSS Cairo, Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyya Raṣīd 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, and 54. The aim of this study is to deepen our knowledge of the manufacturing system and the context of production of these manuscripts through the examination of paper formats, writing, and illuminations. This analysis allows us to locate these Qur’āns in the overall context of fourteenth-century manuscripts production, but also to reconsider the place of the two illumination workshops involved in their ornamentation, as well as their relationship with Sultan Shaʿbān and his entourage.