Arts of the Islamic World & India
Arts of the Islamic World & India
A large illuminated Qur'an, copied by Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Muhammad, East Caucasus, Dagestan, dated Dhu'l-Qa'da 1219 AH/February-March 1805 AD
Auction Closed
October 23, 01:24 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Arabic manuscript on paper, 306 leaves, plus 1 fly-leaf, 11 lines to the page written in muhaqqaq in black ink, verses separated by knotted motifs in white, blue, red and yellow, 'ashr and sajda marked by marginal roundels, juz' marked by marginal inscriptions in white or gold within foliate panels, surah headings in white or gold within similarly decorated panels, opening bifolio illuminated in gold and polychrome framing 5 lines of text in clouds reserved against a hatched ground, in brown leather binding, with flap
41.2 by 30cm.
Manuscripts of this group were previously attributed to South East Asia due to the presence of spurious colophons on a small group of these manuscripts. However, Shikhsaidov and Gallop have since reattributed a number of these manuscripts to Dagestan on account of key features such as the use of Russian paper, and fragments containing Cyrillic script found within the pages of one of the manuscripts (Shikhsaidov 2007 and Gallop 2008). The large-scale, energetic script and freely-drawn illumination shown by this manuscript are features shared among the group. For another Dagestan Qur'an, see an example sold in these rooms, 25 October 2023, lot 2.