Category: News

A Visit to St Andrews: Studying the St Andrews Qur’an and Persian Manuscript Provenance In early November, Theresa travelled to St Andrews for a short but fruitful research visit. At first, she spend some time at the university’s conservation lab, where she had the opportunity to study the famous St Andrews Qur’an. Using a light… Continue reading ST ANDREWS, November 2025

Over the summer, Yih-chuen has been exploring project-related resources and delving into catalog research in libraries. Her recent trip took her to the Bodleian Library in Oxford in October 2025, where she continued to study catalogs that are not available in Germany. So far, she has consulted over 50 catalogs in total to prepare for… Continue reading OXFORD, October 2025

Decorated Paper 2.0 Workshop The GLOBAL DECO PAPER team gathered for a three-day workshop titled “Decorated Paper 2.0”with affiliated researcher Jake Benson. The event brought together hands-on database work, lively discussions on terminology and technique, and inspiring insights into the global history of decorated papers. Day One: Deep Dive into the Database Our workshop began… Continue reading MUNICH, October 2025

At this year’s Deutscher Orientalistentag (DOT) in Erlangen, one packed day showcased panels by PI Ilse Sturkenboom, bringing the students’ research into sharp, compelling focus. Centred on the arts of the book across Persian, Ottoman, and Mughal contexts—from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries—the sessions also probed twentieth-century collecting, reminding us how later histories shape… Continue reading ERLANGEN, September 2025

The second week of the Leiden Summer School on Philology and Manuscripts from the Muslim World was quite productive as participants had to prepare a presentation based on their own research field. Apart from that,  one of the central highlights of this week was the introduction to the Leiden University Library catalogue and its special… Continue reading LEIDEN, August 2025, Part II

In August, Negar participated in the 7th Leiden Summer School on Philology and Manuscripts from the Muslim World 2025, a highly competitive program that accepts only 15 participants each year. Being selected was both an honor and a fortunate opportunity to study and do research in Leiden, where the courses brought together diverse topics, expert… Continue reading LEIDEN, August 2025, Part I

In the beginning of August, Ilse and Negar’s went  to Tashkent, the capital or Uzbekistan, for a research trip, which was a wonderful mix of cultural exploration and productive research. On Sunday, the first day of the visit, Ilse and Negar began by exploring several museums and enjoying sightseeing around the city. One of the… Continue reading TASHKENT, August 2025

Study Trip Part 3: Decorated Paper in London The third station of Theresa Zischkin’s research trip to the UK brought her to London, where she spent a rewarding week from Monday to Saturday immersed in the city’s rich manuscript collections and artistic treasures.     In the Asian and African Study Room of the British… Continue reading LONDON, August 2025

UK Research Trip – Part Two Theresa Zischkin’s journey through the manuscript collections of the UK continued in Oxford, where the city’s rich scholarly heritage, breathtaking architecture, and world-renowned libraries offered the perfect setting for her next phase of research. Upon arriving, she took the opportunity to begin her stay with a visit to the… Continue reading OXFORD, August 2025

Starting off the UK Manuscript Tour! Theresa Zischkin has begun her UK research trip in the historic city of Cambridge. Her first stop was the Cambridge University Library, where she had the opportunity to examine three remarkable manuscripts. Together with Kristine Rose-Beers and Firuza Melville, she studied, among others, the Dīwān-i Hilālī. We are deeply… Continue reading CAMBRIDGE, July 2025