Two consecutive leaves from a dispersed manuscript of the Qur'an written on pink paper, Andalusia, late 12th-13th Century

(2)

Arabic manuscript on paper, two leaves, five lines to the page written in large maghribi script in brown ink with diacritics and vowel points in gold and brown, verses marked with illuminated gold roundels, sura heading in kufic script in gold on a blue floral ground within a rectangular panel bordered in gold and a roundel containing the name of the sura in gold on a red ground, extending into wide outer margin, some wear, worming, edges frayed, losses to corners
334 x 232 mm.(2)

Text
sura XCVIII, al-Baiyina, The Clear Evidence, part of verse 5-verse 8 (end of sura), and sura XCIX, al-Zilzal, The Convulsion, verse 1?verse 2.

At this date in Andalusia the use of paper was becoming less unusual, certainly more common than in North Africa, where vellum remained more typical. The use of pink paper (which may have been produced at Jativa, near Valencia, site of the earliest recorded paper mill in Spain) marks this manuscript out as especially high quality.