A journey to search my soul

This is a blog of my personal collections. The purpose of this blog is to educate myself and public in regards to antiquities especially related to religion and calligraphy. I welcome everyone to input their feedback in this blog which they think would be helpful. I do not watermark the photos in this blog so everyone is free to use them as long as they are not used for illegal and unethical reasons. I appreciate if you could notify me if you plan to use any of the photos here. Enjoy browsing!!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Ancient Manuscript Review 119 : Antique Indonesian Lontar Quran Manuscript (20th Century)





This is a very interesting Quran manuscript from Indonesia. These Quranic verses were written on Lontar i.e a leaf derives from the palmyra species of palm, Borassus flabellifer, which is common in Indonesia. An iron stylus called a pangutik is used to inscribe the writings on the leaf surface.
The inscription of Quranic on Lontar is rare because by tradition only kawi script was written.
There are about 7 Quranic chapters in this manuscript. Total 35 palm leaves and binded by thick thread and stored in a mahogany box.
According to the person who sold me this manuscript, this lontar came from Aceh and its estimated from 18-19th century.
However when I received this manuscript, I doubt that its really that old. The lontar leaves are pale yellow and quite in good condition.I estimated this manuscript must have been made within 50 years.
My other lontar manuscripts which are more than 100 years of age have darker color and the condition of the leaves is quite fragile. See below links for comparison:
Bali Lontar Manuscript 1
Bali Lontar Manuscript 2

Codicology


Title Page : Nil
Content    : 7 Surahs of Quran
Date         :  20th Century CE
Copyist    : Anonymous
Patron      : Nil
Origin      : Aceh , Indonesia
Place acquired : Pekanbaru, Indonesia
Illuminations : Nil
Calligraphy : Ghubari
Number of lines :3 lines perleaf
Inks          : Main text inscribed in black
Punctuation: Diacritical marks in black
Frame       :  Nil
History of Manuscript :
Number of folios : 35leaves
Support of writing : pale yellowish Lontar leaf
Gatherings : N/A
Catchwords :Nil
Dimensions : 105 cm x 37 cm
Binding   : Covers are from wood
Estimated Market Price :
Purchased Price : USD
Remarks :Manuscript is stored inside a mahogany box

2 comments:

  1. Dear Abu Dervish,
    I am writing a book on Indonesian manuscripts and would be very much interested to include a picture of this manuscript in my book. I am Dr. Dick van der Meij at present in Jakarta. If you agree I would like to invite you to send me a better picture. Of course you will be duly acknowledged in the book.
    Thank you for your attention and I hope you will agree. I can be reached at dickvandermeij2012@gmai.com
    all the best
    Dick

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Abu Darvish,
    I am a mushaf history researcher,
    Is it possible for you to share the images of these Quran trailers with me?
    Thank you for your attention and I hope you will agree. If you agree, I can be reached at kaskamile0@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete