BLOUIN | ARTINFO
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| Master artist of miniatures, Mohammad Tamim Sahibzada shows the Quran handmade at the initiative of the Turquoise Mountain Institute, in the old district of Murad Khani in Kabul (April 19, 2018)
(Image by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) |
In an attempt to overhaul the architecture and uphold the traditional Afghan arts, which were damaged by consecutive wars, the
Turquoise Mountain Foundation launched a magnificent project along with a team of 38 calligraphers and miniaturist painters; the result of which is a hand-painted silk Quran representing Afghan excellence.
Each copy consists of 610 hand-painted pages, with the masterpiece bracing the centuries-old art bound in leather and weighing 8.6 kilos, stated
Le Figaro. The artists hired for the purpose were accommodated in an old Kabul caravanserai, and the Turquoise Mountain Foundation of Britain trained most of them. While creating this magnum opus, the artists made use of naskh, the fundamental cursive script developed in early Islamic times to substitute the kufic (or kufi) style, the reason being it was uncomplicated and simpler to read and write. [
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