Illuminated Title Page from a Mafatih al-Ghayb Manuscript

In Egypt, calligraphy and illumination (decoration) reached their peak under the Mamluks. This decorative frontispiece from a religious and philosophical text is broken into two parts. The rectangular top panel contains an oval cartouche with the chapter heading written in a fine thuluth script. The lower section includes the name of the author in black naskh script within a 6-lobed rosette (shamsa). The format of this page is typical of Mamluk manuscript frontispieces from the 14th and 15th centuries.