Gold Leaf in Islamic Calligraphy: From Illuminated Qurans to Your Wall
Gold has a special place in Islamic calligraphy. It does not tarnish, it catches the smallest amount of light, and for more than a thousand years it has been used to honour the words of the Quran. Here is how that tradition began, how illuminators worked with gold, and how to look after a gilded painting in your own home.
Tazhib: the art of gilding
The Arabic word tadhhib (tezhip in Turkish) comes from dhahab, gold, and means to gild. It names the whole art of illumination: decorating manuscripts with gold, silver and colours. In Quran manuscripts illuminators gilded surah headings, verse markers, margins and opening pages, framing the calligraphy so that it seemed to shine. See the glossary for more terms.
The Blue Qur'an
One of the most famous Quran manuscripts was written entirely in gold. The Blue Qur'an's Kufic letters are gold on parchment dyed deep indigo, with circular verse markers in silver. Its leaves are dated to between the second half of the 9th and the mid-10th century and attributed to North Africa, probably Tunisia; the manuscript is thought to have belonged to the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Single folios are now scattered among museums — the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York holds one measuring about 30 by 40 cm.
Ibn al-Bawwab's Qur'an
In Baghdad in 1000–1001 (391 AH), the master calligrapher Ibn al-Bawwab copied a Qur'an in ink, colours and gold on paper. It is one of the earliest dated Qurans on paper and in a rounded cursive script, and its illuminated double pages and surah headings show how gold and calligraphy were by then designed together. It is preserved at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin. Our history of Islamic calligraphy follows the story from here to the Ottoman masters and Pakistan's modern artists.
How illuminators used gold
- Gold leaf: gold beaten into sheets far thinner than paper, laid onto a sticky base such as gum arabic, then pressed and polished.
- Shell gold: gold leaf ground with gum arabic or honey and rinsed until it becomes a fine paint, applied with a brush for delicate lines and details.
- Burnishing: rubbing the gold with a smooth agate stone until it shines like a mirror. Ottoman illuminators used a tool called the mühre, with polished agate set at its tip.
Gold in calligraphy today
Contemporary calligraphers bring the same idea to canvas: letters painted in black or deep colour over a gold-leaf ground, gilded letters on dark backgrounds, or metallic paint for fine work. The Surah Rahman gold calligraphy in the photo above uses a gold-leaf panel; the Four Quls in maroon and gold and Allah calligraphy in black and gold combine gold leaf with paint. Each InkByHand product page lists whether a piece uses gold leaf or metallic-effect paint.
Real gold leaf or imitation?
Genuine gold leaf is high-carat gold. Leaf above about 23.5 carat does not tarnish; lower carats contain silver or copper and can change slowly over time. Imitation leaf, also called Dutch metal or composition leaf, is a copper and zinc alloy. It looks similar when new but tarnishes and darkens unless it is sealed with varnish. Both are legitimate materials; what matters is that the seller tells you which one is used. If you would like to know the exact leaf on a piece, ask us before ordering.
Caring for gold leaf at home
- Do not touch the gold. Leaf is extremely thin, and fingers leave oils and can rub it away. Handle the painting by its sides.
- Dust gently with a soft, dry brush. Never use water, glass cleaner, polish or a damp cloth.
- Avoid humidity and steam, so keep gilded pieces out of kitchens and bathrooms; imitation leaf darkens faster in damp air.
- Keep it out of direct sunlight. The gold will not fade, but the colours painted around it can.
- Hang it securely on a solid fixing, away from doors that bang and places where it may be knocked.
For everything else, see our artwork care guide.