3 Helping to address this imbalance, a Qur’ān manuscript in the Khalili Collection in London provides striking testimony to the complex artistic networks that connected East Africa, Egypt, Arabia, and India (Fig. 1). 2 Muslim craftsmen, merchants, and states played a vital role within these circuits of artistic exchange nonetheless, the illuminations of Ethiopia’s Islamic manuscripts are rarely mentioned, nor have they been recognized for their potential to elucidate Ethiopia’s engagement within these long-distance networks. 1 From a shared Late Antique heritage to the arrival of the Jesuits, scholars have considered the role of foreign models, artisans, and objects in the creation of a distinctive Ethiopian artistic repertoire. 3 In addition to the resonances of early Christian, Byzantine, and Coptic artistic forms, “Islamic” m (.)ġ At the confluence of networks stretching across the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean, Ethiopia’s Christian pictorial tradition has long been examined for its engagement within this cosmopolitan milieu.McKenzie, F. Watson, 2016 M. H eldman, S.C. 1 This paper was originally presented at the workshop “Christian and Islamic Manuscripts of Ethiopia” (.).À partir du coran Khalili, cette étude examine la place de Harar dans les réseaux de circulation et d’échange artistique et le rôle de ces derniers dans la formation d’un langage visuel Harari dans le contexte de la globalisation croissante de l'Éthiopie du XVIII e siècle. Ce que le manuscrit reflète visuellement d'échanges transrégionaux et sa circulation ultérieure soulignent le rôle de Harar en tant que centre artistique non seulement dans cette région d’Éthiopie, mais aussi dans la Corne de l’Afrique et dans l’océan Indien de manière plus large. Des inscriptions plus récentes dans le manuscrit témoignent de son transfert à Zanzibar. Daté de 1162/1749, le coran Khalili peut être mis en relation avec des manuscrits de la période mamlouke et de l’époque précédente en Inde par ses enluminures et le choix de l’écriture biḥārī, rarement vu en dehors d’Inde. Même s’il n’est pas largement reconnu comme étant d’origine harari, le Coran manuscrit de la collection Khalili (QUR706) à Londres nous offre l’opportunité de considérer les circulations et les échanges artistiques longue distance dans l’océan Indien depuis la période médiévale. Focusing on the Khalili Qur’ān, this essay will explore Harar’s nuanced engagement and selective participation in networks of artistic circulation and exchanges and their role in the formation of a Harari visual idiom within the burgeoning globalization of 18 th -century Ethiopia. The trans-regional visual resonances of the manuscript, and its later circulation, highlight the position not only of Harar as a regional artistic center within Ethiopia, but also that of the Horn of Africa within a broader Indian Ocean ecumene. Later inscriptions in the Qur’ān record its eventual arrival in Zanzibar. Dated to 1162/1749, the Khalili Qur’ān can be linked with Mamluk and earlier Indian Qur’ān manuscripts through its illuminations and its use of biḥārī script, a type rarely seen outside of India. Although not widely recognized as Harari, a Qur’ān manuscript in the Khalili Collection in London (QUR706) provides an opportunity to consider long-distance artistic circulations and encounters in the early modern Indian Ocean.
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