An illuminated Qur'an, with translation and commentary copied by 'Abd al-Husayn al-Isfahani, Persia, Qajar, dated 1250 AH/1834 AD

Arabic manuscript on paper, 275 leaves plus 7 flyleaves, 14 lines to the page, written in fine naskh script in black ink, interlinear Persian translation ruled in red ink ruled in gold, verses separated by gold florets pointed in blue and red, surah headings in gold thuluth script against a blue or red ground with polychrome floral spandrels, illuminated marginal glosses at start of each surah, catchwords, opening illuminated double-page frontispiece finely decorated with polychrome scrolling flowers and interlacing palmettes against blue and gold grounds, floral lacquer binding with repetition of surah al-fatiha on opening doublure, dated 1262 AH on closing doublure

Mirza Nasrullah Khan Nuri known as Aqa Khan, the second Prime Minister of Nasir al-Din Shah

In good overall condition, spine repaired, minor abrasions to extremities, pages clean, ink bold and illumination bright, as viewed.
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The scribe of the interlinear Persian translation and most probably of the marginal commentaries, ‘Abd al-Husayn al-Isfahani son of Muhammad, is recorded by I’timad al-Saltana (Muhammad Hasan Khan I’timad al-Saltana, al-ma’athir wa al-athar, vol. 1, edited by Iraj Afshar, Tehran 1363 sh. p.293) as a famous shikasteh calligrapher. Marginal commentaries in five other copies of the Qur’an now in the Gulistan Palace Library were also copied by him (Badri Atabay, fehrest-e qor’anya-ye khatti-ye ketabkhaneh-ye saltanati, Tehran, 1351, cat. Nos 7, 10, 11, 50 and 121).  

A note records that the then owner Aqa Khan son of Asadullah (according to his seal impression) gave this copy to his son Mirza Davud Khan titled Vazir-e lashgar in Jumadi I, 1276 AH/1859-60 AD. Aqa Khan son of Asadullah is Mirza Nasrullah Khan Nuri known as Aqa Khan, the second Prime Minister of Nasir al-Din Shah. He gave this Qur’an to his son shortly after he had been dismissed from his post as Prime Minister. He died on 10 March 1865. (For more on Aqa Khan see Mehdi Bamdad, Dictionary of National Biography of Iran, 1700-1900, vol. 4, Tehran, 1966, pp. 363-79).