Illuminations in Arabic Manuscripts From the Collection of the Oriental Institute of the University of Sarajevo

Abstract

Once an important repository with five thousand, two hundred and sixty-three codices (codices manuscripti), the collection of manuscripts of the Oriental In­stitute included many Arabic manuscripts notable for their content, artistic ele­ments, origination and provenance. Today, it is a modest collection containing only a few of the manuscripts from the old collection in addition to acquired and donated manuscripts. The illuminations and rare miniatures in manuscripts from Bosnian-Herzegovinian collections are not a terra incognita, but they are relatively under-researched and under-represented. Arabic manuscripts were most often discussed in terms of cultural history, while calligraphy was studied from a perspective rooted in art history. This paper focuses on illuminated codi­ces, from the partly preserved and partly perished heritage, works that testify to the art of manuscripts in Bosnia during Ottoman rule. These books were used in Bosnia from 1463 onwards, some were created locally over centuries and others were procured from diverse regions under Islamic rule. How richly the manuscripts would be decorated depended on who commissioned them and for what purpose, but also on various visible and invisible historical circumstances surrounding their fate.