Manifestations scientifiques
Abonnez-vous à la … Subscribe to the Mailing list :
Les conférences de l’Ifao
Le mercredi 11 novembre 2026 à 17h00 (heure du Caire), IFAO 
Qur’anic Manuscripts from the ‘Amr Mosque
The Codex Amrensis 22
Éléonore Cellard
Langue : anglais.
Abstract
This lecture presents the main findings of a study of Codex Amrensis 22, an exceptional Qurʾanic manuscript distinguished by its monumental format, apparent antiquity, and complex history. Undated and lacking any explicit indication of its place of production, the manuscript survives only in dispersed folios now held in collections worldwide. Its long preservation in the Mosque of ʿAmr in Fusṭāṭ provides the only secure evidence of its provenance and inspired its designation as Codex Amrensis.
How can the identity of an anonymous manuscript more than thirteen centuries old be reconstructed? Combining codicological, palaeographical, and art-historical analysis with radiocarbon dating and a study of the manuscript's modern reception, this research offers new insights into its history. The evidence suggests an origin in Umayyad Egypt, possibly under the patronage of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Marwān. More broadly, the lecture examines how the manuscript's identity was continually shaped through use, restoration, and the sustained care of the communities that preserved and transmitted it across the centuries.
Éléonore Cellard completed her PhD in 2015 on a corpus of Qurʾanic manuscripts dating from the 2nd/8th century, conducted in Paris (INALCO/EPHE) under the supervision of G. Ayoub and F. Déroche. She then worked as an assistant to Professor Déroche at the Collège de France until 2018. In parallel, between 2014 and 2018, she contributed to several
international research projects, including Coranica and Paleocoran, and published a monograph (Le Codex Amrensis 1, Brill 2018) and several key articles about early Qur’anic manuscripts. From 2019 to 2021, she received a research fellowship from the French Ministry of the Interior to conduct an in-depth study of the Codex Amrensis 22, the results of which have recently been published by Brill (Le Codex Amrensis 22. Histoire et Analyse d’un manuscrit coranique ancien, 2026).
She is currently an independent researcher and consultant in the art market, focusing her current research on the earliest Qurʾanic manuscripts preserved in Morocco, with an approach that combines book history, codicology, and the history of collections.
Les conférences de l’Ifao
Les conférences de l'Ifao ont pour objectif la transmission des résultats des recherches en cours ou très récentes, par des chercheurs confirmés. Y sont conviés essentiellement les chercheurs impliqués dans les différentes opérations scientifiques de l'Ifao lors de leur passage par l'Institut. ِElles sont également parfois le lieu de présentation d'ouvrages récemment parus à l'Ifao par leurs autheurs. Les conférences de l'Ifao ont lieu traditionnellement les mercredis aprés-midis, en français ou en anglais.
IFAO Lectures series aim to transmit the results of current or very recent research by confirmed researchers. They are mainly animated by researchers involved in IFAO's various scientific programs and projects during their stay at the Institute. They are also sometimes the occasion for presentations, by their authors, of books recently published by the IFAO.
IFAO Lectures series are traditionally held on Wednesday afternoons, in French or English.