A Qur'an vellum bifolium in maghribi script, NORTH AFRICA OR SPAIN, circa 1250-1350

text: surat al-Naml (XXVII), vv.: 55-59



Arabic manuscript on vellum, 5 lines to the page written in large maghribi script in brown ink, diacritics and vowel points in red, blue and green, illuminated trefoil and shell-shaped markers decorated with blue and red dots between verses, illuminated teardrop and circular devices in outer borders

staining at extremities, ink strong, colours bright, overall good condition, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Qur'an manuscripts and dispersed leaves of similar script, format and size are dated to circa 1250-1350. The present example can be compared with a thirty-volume Qur'an apparently written by the Marinid Sultan Abul-Hasan 'Abdallah bin 'Ali and endowed to the al-Aqsa Mosque in 1344 (Salameh 2001, pp.66-83).

Another bifolium from the same manuscript was exhibited in the Ink and Gold - Islamic Calligraphy exhibition, Museum für Islamiche Kunst, Berlin, in 2006 (Fraser and Kwiatkowski 2006, no.20, pp.70-71).

A futher section from the same thirty-volume Qur'an was sold in these rooms on 5 April 2006. The footnote compares that section to a twenty-volume Qur'an in the Bibliothèque Ben Youssouf in Marrakesh (no. 431), which was probably written at Granada in the thirteenth century. One section was exhibited at the Al-Andalus exhibition at the Alhambra in Granada in 1993 and in the previous year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Al-Andalus 1992, no. 81).