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Kufic is the first formal script for copying Qur’anic manuscripts. The materials and techniques used to create it tell a story that begins in the late eighth century. Through a collaboration between the National Museum of Asian Art and the Qatar National Library, conservation scientist Glenn Gates focuses on analyses of early Kufic Qur’an folios, deepening our understanding and appreciation of these artworks. In this presentation, Gates will address several recent discoveries, such as the use of manufactured colorants created by sublimation. Sublimation converts a solid directly into a gas without a liquid intermediate, as observed with dry ice today. Jabir Ibn Hayyan (721–815 CE) is generally credited with developing sublimation applications as well as introducing “recrystallization,” a purification process Gates will explore in relation to the reduced corrosive qualities of Kufic ink. 

This talk is part of the monthly lunchtime series Sneak Peek: New Research from the National Museum of Asian Art, where staff members present brief, personal perspectives and ongoing research, followed by discussion. This year, the online series focuses on the theme of word and image—including calligraphy, seals, inscriptions, manuals, narratives, and poetry—in the collections of the National Museum of Asian Art. 
 
Glenn Gates is a conservation scientist in the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research at the National Museum of Asian Art. He has explored his interests, which lie at the intersection of materials science and cultural heritage, since beginning this career at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in 1990. Glenn has led investigations focused on the conservation of the John Singer Sargent murals at the Harvard Art Museums, the attribution of an Alfred Jacob Miller portrait at Johns Hopkins University, Olowe of Ise’s use of materials at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and ceramic nanolayers on silver at the Walters Art Museum. 
 
Image: 
Folio from a Qur’an, sura 48:5–6, North Africa or Near East, 8th–9th century, ink, color, and gold on parchment, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1930.23