Alex Geldzahler, Contributing Photographer

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library unveiled its latest temporary exhibition, “Taught by the Pen: The World of Islamic Manuscripts,” on Feb. 24. 

This is the first public exhibition of Yale’s collections of Islamic manuscripts, one of the biggest in the nation. From early copies of the Quran to more modern documents, it features a myriad of objects — ranging in geography, period and style — to illustrate the manifold and long-standing literary tradition in the Islamic world. 

“Through examples drawn from Yale’s world-class collections, we wanted to highlight the interconnected traditions of the Islamicate world and demonstrate how ideas and inspiration travel across cultures,” said Dr. Ozgen Felek, one of the exhibit’s curators and a lecturer of Ottoman Turkish at Yale. 

Yale owns more than 4,000 Islamic manuscripts, making it the third largest collection and one of the oldest in the nation, and the exhibit showcases just a fraction of the documents.

This semester, Felek teaches a course titled “Islamic Manuscript Illumination: History, Theory, and Practice,” where students learn about items like those featured in the exhibit and even attempt to recreate similar objects by painting and drawing in class.

Dr. Agnieszka Rec ’08 GRD ’12 ’16, a curator at the Beinecke and Roberta L. Dougherty, librarian for Middle East Studies, curated the exhibit along with Felek. 

“Unlike other exhibitions that may cover only a limited number of languages or genres, our exhibit features a wide range of materials from different periods, geographies and languages,” Rec said.

Further, the pieces from the collection originate from vastly different locations, from North Carolina to Damascus.

Though some have been included on display previously, according to Dougherty, many items are on display and cataloged for the first time in the exhibit.

“We wanted to bring out items made or used by ordinary people, items that you might use every day and even carry in your pocket, and not just artworks behind glass suited only for collectors,” said Dougherty.

Among the curators’ favorite pieces is an almost encyclopedic cosmographic text from the 13th century and a complete collection of the renowned poet Rumi’s works. 

The works cover a variety of topics, from mathematics to architecture to science and medicine. The exhibit aims to unite various schools of thought across different cultures and periods into a cohesive narrative that presents a taste of the storied culture behind Yale’s manuscripts.

Dr. Rachel Herschman, exhibitions and publications program director for the Beinecke, expressed hope that the wide range of subjects would offer something of interest to all visitors.

The selected works are accompanied by text that contextualizes the piece with vital context for visitors. In addition to nearby placards, individuals can also find more information in the visitors guide at the front desk. Visitors can also participate in a small scavenger hunt for manuscripts.

“While print was adopted at scale in the Islamic world later than in the West, the Islamic world switched writing surfaces from parchment to paper centuries earlier,” Rec said. “We have only one parchment manuscript in the exhibition—a fragment of the Quran dating from the 10th century.”

“Taught by the Pen,” which draws its name from a passage in the Quran, is on display seven days a week until Aug. 10, 2025.