Folio of a Qur'an in kufic script

The Abbasid period was a key moment for the development of the arts of the book across the Islamic world and Qur'an manuscripts became the ideal ground for formal and aesthetic experimentation by calligraphers and illuminators. This folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an on parchment well illustrates a later phase in the development of the Qur'anic page, which will eventually lead to a return to vertical (codex) format for the page and a more legible calligraphy.
In fact, here the calligrapher has adopted a style of the kufic script that appears more legible when compared to earlier examples and shows a stronger vertical elevation. The shape of certain letters, as the curved structure of the lam-alif, notably relates to later examples in New Style script, a form of angular script that was mainly but not exclusively adopted in the Eastern regions of the Islamic world. In this page, it is evident the intention of the calligrapher to give the script a strong presence and an almost pictorial dimension.