Arts of the Islamic World and India, including Fine Rugs and Carpets
Arts of the Islamic World and India, including Fine Rugs and Carpets
Thirty-five illuminated leaves from a monumental Qur'an in Bihari script, India, Sultanate, 16th century
Auction Closed
April 26, 01:36 PM GMT
Estimate
26,000 - 35,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Arabic manuscript on paper, 35 leaves, plus 6 fly-leaves, 15 lines to the page written in Bihari in black ink, the word Allah and key phrases picked out in gold, verses separated by gold and polychrome rosettes, further text divisions marked by large gold and polychrome marginal medallions, surah headings in white and gold on gold and polychrome illuminated panels, ruled in red and black with marginal notes, in brown stamped leather binding
leaf: 53 by 32.2cm.
Few pre-Mughal manuscripts from India have survived, most likely due to the political instability and unfavourable climatic conditions. The present group of leaves display a particularly impressive commission conceived on a monumental scale. The distinctive Bihari script of this Qur’an is said to be a relation of naskh, but the tradition of copying Qur'ans in this hand appears to have lasted only from the period between the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate at the end of the fourteenth century and the rise of the Mughals in the mid-16th century. A single leaf from this Qur’an was sold in these rooms, 23 October 2019, lot 18.