A large Qur'an leaf in kufic script on vellum, NEAR EAST OR NORTH AFRICA, circa 850-950

Text: surat Hud (XI), vv.: 66-92



Arabic manuscript on paper, 18 lines to the page written in kufic script in brown ink, diacritics and vowel points picked out in red ink, lacking verse markers

fraying at edges, some creasing and staining at extremities, 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."

The script of this unusually large Qur'an folio is close to styles D.I and D.Va in Déroche's categorisation (Déroche 1992, pp. 44-45), but there are certain idiosyncracies that differentiate it from other examples of kufic script such as the thin trail of the terminal letters that drop below the line as can be found in the letter mim. Furthermore, there is almost no use of mashq (horizontal stretching of letters or ligatures), and no artistically inspired non-functional aspects of the script, except perhaps the terminal ya, which is enlarged and extended slightly beyond its functionally necessary form. The vocalization has been applied in a very idiosyncratic way. Not every instance, for example of a tashdid, has the relevant marker, and this is the same for all the vocalization symbols. The use of red ink written in a different, non kufic, hand to correct mistakes in text implies that they were corrected at a different stage of production from the brown kufic corrections. Fraser concludes that "all these aspects would point to this folio and the manuscript from which it came having been a more functional production of the late ninth century. It was probably a Qur'an of which the primary role was scholarly than artistic, essentially a working copy of the Qur'an rather than a show copy. It may have been made for a mosque or madrasa, the extra vocalisation marks being included as aids to reading, teaching or exegesis" (Fraser and Kwiatkowski 2006, no. 6, pp. 34-37). 

Two other folios from the same manuscript were exhibited in the exhibition Ink and Gold, Museum für Islamiche Kunst, Berlin (ibid., op.cit., no.6).

Other leaves were sold in these rooms on 24 October 2007, lot 3 and 9 April 2008, lot 14.