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Lecture by British Library Arabic manuscript expert
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| Dr Colin Baker presented a lecture to AKU-ISMC MA students about his work exploring the various styles and forms of Islamic calligraphy throughout history. |
On the 19th of February Dr Colin Baker, Head of Section for Arabic Manuscripts at the British Library, presented a lecture to AKU-ISMC MA students about his work exploring the various styles and forms of Islamic calligraphy throughout history.
At the British Library, Baker is responsible for Arabic manuscripts, manuscript catalogues, Qur'ans and Islamic enquiries, Classical Arabic literature, Islamic sciences and medicine and Judaeo-Arabic manuscripts.
The British Library's Arabic-language manuscript collection is one of the largest in the world, comprising almost 14,000 manuscripts, which represents nearly 20,000 works. It includes some of the best examples of calligraphic and illuminated manuscripts of the Qur'an as well as a number of important legal, historical, literary and scientific works.
The collection of Arabic printed books contained at the British Libary is among the largest in the UK and is made up of over 60,000 items. The British Library aims to maintain a broad coverage of the humanities and social sciences by obtaining material from a number of Middle Eastern countries, focusing on Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
Baker has recently published a book as part of the recent British Library exhibition, Sacred. In Qur'an Manuscripts: Calligraphy, Illumination, Design, Baker explores the central place of the Qur'an in Islamic society but also focuses on manuscripts as physical objects, exploring the renowned calligraphy and the masterful artists who are responsible for it. His book forms an overview of the long history of these manuscripts from a number of Muslim contexts and time periods, from the eighth to the end of the nineteenth century, and from Morocco to Malaysia.
As part of the MA in Muslim Cultures, students are often invited to participate in lectures with international experts. Based in the central London, AKU-ISMC is well located and regularly receives scholars from institutions such as the School of Oriental and African Studies, the British Museum, the British Library, Birkbeck College and University College London, among others.
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