New exhibition showcases treasures from library’s collection of Islamic manuscripts

“Taught by the Pen: The World of Islamic Manuscripts” is now on view at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library through Aug. 10. This broad-reaching exhibition—displaying 150 items dating from the 9th to 19th centuries—celebrates Islamic civilization and its intertwined artistic, religious, and scholarly traditions. Manuscripts and books include illuminated copies of the Qur’an, calligraphy albums, prayer books, poetry collections, maps, and more.

Yale Library’s collection of manuscripts produced in the Islamic world—with more than 5,300 items—is among the largest and oldest in the United States. Search the collection by topic or author, if known, or consult a Yale librarian for assistance.

Each of the curators will be featured in an online Mondays at Beinecke conversation: Roberta L. Dougherty, Yale Library’s librarian for Middle East Studies, Özgen Felek, a lector of Ottoman in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and Agnieszka Rec, curator at the Beinecke Library. Register for individual events through the links on each name.

Read a Yale News story, Illuminated and ordinary: Exhibition explores the world of Islamic manuscripts.

—Deborah Cannarella

Images: Photos of the exhibition on view in Beinecke Library by Mara Lavitt. The featured manuscript pages are from an encyclopedia that presents all the information about the Nile River known to the Arabic-speaking population of Egypt as of the 15th century. Creator unknown, Dhikr kalām al-nās fī manba‘ al-Nīl wa-makhrajihi wa-ziyādatih (What people say about the source of the Nile, its outlet, and its increase), 1655. Manuscript volume (Landberg MSS 365). Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library