A fine calligraphic scroll section, Turkey or Persia, Ottoman or Timurid, mid-15th century

Arabic manuscript on cloth-backed paper, laid down on board, 12 lines to the page, split into 4 registers; the 1st and 3rd in large and bold muhaqqaq script, the 2nd in square Kufic and the 4th in smaller neat muhaqqaq, pointed gold florets variously interspersed between the letters

In fair overall condition, creasing, cracks and losses to leaf edges due to rolling, some water staining, calligraphy generally bold, 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."

inscriptions

First, third and fourth band: The text is from surah al-Baqarah (II), verse 255, ayat al-kursi, the 'Throne Verse' and part of verse 256.

Second line: The right hand panel of the square Kufic band comprises the Shahadah, and the rest of the line is verse 22 of surah al-Hashr (LIX).

The present manuscript fragment would once have been at the beginning of a large scroll, probably with a decorated headpiece and a Bismillah above the existing text. The calligraphy itself echoes the superb bold muhaqqaq script of the 'Baysunghur Qur'an' (see Sotheby's London, 6 April 2011, lot 185), but with the addition of a band of square Kufic script that suggests a manufacture in Ottoman Turkey. What is perhaps most likely is that this scroll was produced in Turkey, but by a Persian calligrapher, as can be seen with the scroll of Sultan Mehmed II, compiled (or copied) by the eminent calligrapher 'Ata' Allah Muhammad al-Tabrizi, who was still working at the Ottoman court in Istanbul in 1467 (published in D.J. Roxburgh (ed.), Turks, a Journey of a Thousand Years, 600-1600, London, 2005, pp.288-9 and 439, no.246. This calligraphic style migrated from Persia to Turkey in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, influencing the Ottoman arts of the book well into the sixteenth century, as witnessed by the work of Ahmed Karahisari.