'MONA LISA OF MANUSCRIPTS'

'MONA LISA OF MANUSCRIPTS'

ROME — A 15th-century Bible which is considered one of the most spectacular examples of Renaissance illuminated manuscripts went on display in Rome on Thursday as part of the Vatican's Holy Year celebrations.

Four manuscripts from the Mālikī tradition: NLPCPM, Raqqada, 49-2/915

By Jonathan Brockopp One of the amazing things about the Kairouan collection of manuscripts is that we can identify the handwriting of specific scribes. Local caretakers have known this for generations, but Miklos Muranyi was the first to publish this fact, noting the many manuscripts written by local historian and legal scholar Abu l-ʿArab al-Tamīmī (d. 333/944).[1] Scribes of Arabic manuscripts occasionally identify themselves, but the presenc…