Browse Items (24 total)

"Durable yet easily decorated, leather presented an ideal material for protecting Islamic manuscripts. Some particularly fine bindings executed in the 15th century even featured different designs on the upper and lower covers.[1] Delicate leather…

"Moveable type printing was invented in China around 1045, but was never practiced on a large scale as the number of Chinese script characters (about 10,000) made it impractical. In Korea, moveable type was used more widely, especially from the 14th…

“The pen is a key that opens the door to the necessities of life.” This group of Ottoman scribal implements consists of three pairs of steel scissors and a steel rule all inlaid with gold; a silver and gilt pen box and inkwell; two pen rests,…

"The dispersed “Blue Qur’an” to which this folio belongs is one of the most famous surviving Qur’an manuscripts. The text of this outstanding Qur’an is copied in gold ink outlined in black on a deep indigo-blue parchment. Small silver…