Title
Illuminated folio with birth announcement
Year/Period
Dated 4 Safar 1289 AH (13 April 1872)
Region
Lingga, Riau
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 19.5 x 13.8 cm
Accession No.
2020-00002
Collection of
This illuminated page records the birth of a daughter, Jawiyah, to an Encik Sudin (father) and Encik Unah (mother) on 4 Safar 1289 AH (13 April 1872 AD), followed by prayers and supplications in Arabic on the recto. On both sides, the text is enclosed in decorative frames, and topped and tailed by ornamental . Both the colour scheme aand certain decorative elements are emblematic of the illumination styles from the Malay Peninsular East Coast and Patani, southern Thailand. The use of what is essentially an imported decorative scheme for a Riau manuscript foregrounds the high regard for this style as one of the finest in manuscript illumination across Islamic Southeast Asia.
