All the Islamic-related collectibles will be showcased in the Islamic Art Gallery.
Spanning an area of 26000 sq ft, the gallery will have a collection of over 2500 artifacts including Islamic rosaries, manuscripts, jades, textiles, rare copies of the Holy Quran, old Islamic manuscripts, arms and ammunitions, prayer rugs, carpets, ewers, ceramics, etc.
The SJM library is a veritable treasure trove of rare books and manuscripts. It has more than 56,000 books and around 9,000 manuscripts in different languages.
It has a rich collection of the holy Quran. It has 365 copies of the Quran in Kufi, Naskh, Nataliq, Raihan and Thulth scripts. Most of these are illustrated and decorated. A jade ‘rehal' (book stand) and ‘zafar takia' is something to look at.
The SJM boasts of the oldest folio of Quran on parchment in the Kufi script belonging to the ninth century representing rare calligraphy work. The miniature Quran measuring two cm. by three cm. printed in 31 folios is simply awe-inspiring. There are only two such small Qurans – one in Iran and another at SJM. All these will be shifted to the new gallery.
Salarjung museum will be the first museum in India and the third in the world to have an exclusive Islamic gallery. According to director Salarjung Museum Mr. A Nagendar Reddy presently there are two museums which have exclusive Islamic art galleries, one is Victoria & Albert Museum, London and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Source: The Siasat Daily