A Study on The Origin of Illuminated Patterns of The Qur'an of Ibn al-Bawwāb Based on The Stucco Patterns of The Early Islamic Centuries

The Qur'an of Ibn al-Bawwāb is one of the finest illuminated manuscripts in existence preserved at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin. It is transcribed by Ali ibn-Hilal, Abu'l-Hasan, the leading calligrapher and illuminator of the fifth century, known as Ibn al-Bawwāb. The copy contains the earliest examples of patterns of an illuminated Qur'an manuscript. Thus, the present paper aims to compare the Qur'an's 171 illuminated patterns with seven motifs of early Islamic monuments. Studying a descriptive-analytical method, we seek to address the raised question: What motifs of Islamic arts have mostly influenced the patterns in Ibn al-Bawwāb's Qur'an ?    Analyzing qualitative data entails reading a large number of transcripts and looking for similarities or differences, the authors conclude that since Ibn al-Bawwāb worked as a home decorator before beginning book illumination and calligraphy, his patterns in illumination are derived from his earlier architectural designs which were inspired by the decorative motifs of early Islamic architectures such as al-Abbasi alter in Baghdad, Raqqa, Samarra, Jāme' Mosque of Isfahān, the Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn, Noh Gonbad Mosque (Mosque of Nine Cupolas) in Balkh, and Seymareh. Therefore, the earliest Islamic illumination patterns are inspired by the architectural decorative motifs of the early Islamic centuries.