A large Qur'an bifolium in kufic script on vellum, Near East or North Africa, 9th century

text: surat al-baqara (II), vv.: 185-186,194-196



Arabic manuscript on paper, 2 leaves, 7 lines to the page written in elegant and elongated kufic script in brown ink with vocal points in red, green and yellow, single verse divisions marked with a triangular cluster of six dots in gold, fifth verse divisions marked with pear-shaped markers in red and gold, wide outer margins indicating that the leaves have not been trimmed

some loss of ink on exterior pages, minor losses on edges, some staining, inner pages ink strong, 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."

This bifolium is a superb example of Abbasid luxury Qur'an production at its most stylized in the late 9^th century. It is perhaps possible to define this style of script as the mature 'Abbasid Kufic'. The style is characterised by a well executed, elegant script with strong horizontal stretching (mashq) of letters and ligatures, and vertical letter forms which provide a visual balance to the horizontal stretching but are not yet in themselves a focus of emphasis.

The script of this bifolium is close to that of the so-called Amajur Qur'an, a manuscript written in kufic script that was donated as a waqf endowment to a mosque in Tyre, Lebanon, in A.D. 875-6 by Amajur, the Abbasid governor of Damascus. Although this waqf date gives us a terminus quem rather than an exact date of production, this date is considered to be a good indication of the approximate production period of kufic scripts of this mature style termed as category D by François Déroche (Déroche 1992, pp. 36-37 and 44-45).

For a photograph of the Amajur Qur'an Qur'an, see (Ettinghausen et al, 2001, fig.118, p.75). For a detailed description of this script, which Déroche describes as style D.I, see (Déroche 1992, pp.43-45).

A bifolium from the same Qur'an was exhibited at the Museum für Islamiche Kunst, Berlin in 2006, see (Fraser and Kwiatkowski, 2006, no. 7).

Other leaves from this Qur'an are in the Fogg Museum, Boston; The Freer Gallery, Washington; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Toledo Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum and The Musée des Arts Islamiques de Kairouan (Carthage, no. 328).

Other leaves from the same Qur'an or similar leaves were sold in these rooms on 28^th April 1993, lot 67; 15^th October 1997, lots 2 and 7; 29^th April 1998, lots 5 and 6; 18^th April 2007, lot 4; 9^th April 2008, lot 17; Bernard Quaritch catalogue 1366, no 1; Christie's 28^th April 1998, lot 34 and 4^th April 2006, lots 1 and 2 from the Riefstahl Estate.

For a biography of Rudolph M. Riefstahl (Munich, 9^th August 1880 – New York, 31 December 1936) see Edwards 1989, fig.1, p.28).

Edwards, H. 'The Riefstahl Qur'an Fragment: Date, Provenance and Significance', Kresge Art Museum Bulletin, vol. IV, Michigan, pp. 25-31.