Conserving Wadham's Qur'ans

Back in 1972, Wadham was gifted an extraordinary collection of 959 manuscripts from the Islamicate world. Among the manuscripts, 18 are of the Qur’an, with the oldest dating to 1698.

Unlike manuscript collections presented to the British Library, the Bodleian library and elsewhere, Wadham’s did not come from a powerful, wealthy collector. The donor was Dr Caro Minasian; a family doctor who practised in Tehran and Isfahan, Iran.

The humble provenance of these manuscripts is what makes them so special. As Wadham’s Professorial Fellow in Iranian Studies, Edmund Hertzig explains,

“Many of the manuscripts come from the homes of [Dr Minasian's] patients in an era when Iranian families were turning from manuscripts to the printed book. As such, it is a unique source for the social history of reading in the last years of the millennium-long Persian manuscript tradition."

Wadham's collection is referenced within FIHRIST, an online union catalogue of manuscripts from the Islamicate world, which shows manuscript holdings from UK & Dublin libraries. As Fihrist’s website states, these “rich collections of manuscript bear witness to the linguistic, religious and cultural diversity of what commonly features as the Islamic world."

The Qur'an manuscripts in particular deserve to be as accessible to as many scholars as possible and to this end Wadham plans to relocate them into the Bodleian Library. In order to be ready for their new home, the manuscripts will be undergoing conservation work to ensure they are fit for a long future.

Wadham's stewardship of these manuscripts began with a generous donor, and it continues with the help of another generous donor. The Bangladeshi collector and philanthropist Durjoy Rahman heard of our collection via a member of the College and is very generously sponsoring the conservation work on all 18 of our Qur’an manuscripts.

Conservation work has already begun, with 10 of the Qur'ans having already been treated. Conservator Victoria Stevens remarked, “they are really special objects that need an approach that is quite different from their 'western' counterparts.” You can see images from the conservation work in progress below.

Now that 10 of the Qur'ans have been restored, the College is making plans to exhibit them. Watch this space for further details!

Wadham is very grateful to Durjoy for helping us preserve the legacy of these treasured manuscripts.

As an Oxford College, Wadham is privileged to have been entrusted with culturally important collections from Dr Caro Minasian and other donors over the decades and centuries. Taking proper care of this cultural inheritance requires continual re-investment and the support of our generous benefactors.

If you would be interested in sponsoring Wadham's conservation efforts, please do contact Director of Development, Julie Hage at julie.hage@wadham.ox.ac.uk.