Folio from the so-called 'Blue Qur'an'

This folio once belonged to the so-called 'Blue Qur’an', by far one of the most celebrated Qur’an manuscripts of the entire Islamic World. The text in stretched kufic script has been copied in gold ink on blue-dyed parchment; the striking contrast of the gleaming gold ink against the deep blue page makes this manuscript a true masterpiece of minimalistic beauty. It has been suggested that this precious manuscript would have counted over 600 folios, probably divided into several volumes, once completed. Scholars are still debating around the provenance and the dating of this unique manuscript. Today, most of the remaining pages are preserved in Raqqada, a few kilometres from Qayrawan (present-day Tunisia), others are scattered in various museum collections worldwide.