Qur'anic lesson board

Item

Title

Qur'anic lesson board

wood carving

Creator

Creator Unrecorded

Subject

Mahdi; Sudan; religion; writing; campaign mementoes; koran; Quran

Description

Sudanese version of the school slate, carved from sunut hardwood (acacia arabica). The ink was made from a combination of soot and gum, a valuable local product. The board contains an extract from the Qur'an (to be determined), which the pupil at a religious school (khalwa) was charged with learning the entire holy book by heart. [FHM 25/09/2019]

A note in the register of exhibits at the Royal Engineers Museum records: Extracts from the Koran written on a board by Osman Diqna, ackowledged Emir to Mahdi (Muhammad Ahmed).