Abu ‘Abdallah Muhammad ibn Isma’il ibn Ibrahim al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi (d.870 AD), al-Jami’ al-Sahih, a canonical collection of traditions, vol.VIII, Spain or North Africa, circa 1300

Arabic manuscript on vellum, 103 leaves plus 4 flyleaves, 15 lines to the page, written in elegant 'Andalusi' script in brown ink, headings and keywords picked out in larger blue and red, catchwords, illuminations within the text composed of triangular clusters of gold dots pointed in red and blue, double page illuminated frontispiece comprising two panels with roundels enclosing a rigorous ground of large interlacing split-palmettes in gold, gold strapwork border, with corresponding medallions extending into the margins, f.2b with an illuminated headpiece with interlocking geometric motifs, illuminated endpiece comprising gold text in ornamental Kufic script against a blue ground, red, white and gold strap-work borders with marginal medallion, brown morocco binding with tooled geometric designs, with flap

"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.
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The present volume of Al-Bukhari's Sahih originates from a set that in its entirety spanned multiple volumes. Executed on vellum, and utilising blue, brown, red and gold inks, the manuscript demonstrates the neat and crisp script employed in Spain and North Africa at the time, whilst displaying complex floral illumination of breathtaking beauty.

Born in Bukhara in 194 AH/810 AD, Muhammad Ibn Isma'il Al-Bukhari wrote his Al-Jami' al-Sahih (now prominently known as the Sahih Al-Bukhari) as a compilation of 7,397 traditions selected from the 600,000 hadith that were extant in his time (The Encyclopaedia of Islam, H.A.R. Gibb et al (eds.), vol.I, Leiden, 1986, p.1296).

A similarity can be pointed out between this Sahih's illuminated headpiece on f.2b and one in part two of a four-part Qur'an from North Africa or Iberia dated 1250-1350 AD, which is now in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection (see David James, The Master Scribes, London, 1992, pp.216-7, no.54). Both reveal comparable geometric borders of interlocking chain pattern and similar lateral medallions comprising twirling split-palmettes. Attention can also be drawn to a further volume of Bukhari's Hadith which is now in the Bibliothèque al-Hassania in Rabat, and surely from the same set as the present manuscript (see M. Sijelmassi, Enluminures des manuscrits royaux au Maroc, Paris, 1987, p.48, no.12617). The Rabat manuscript shares with the version to hand an illuminated finispiece of almost identical construction with use of text in gold Kufic against a foliated ground combined with thick, complex borders. Another volume (XVII) from the same series was sold in these rooms, 6 April 2011, lot 204. 

There are twenty-eight various volumes of this work, the earliest of which is dated 581 AH/1185 AD (OR 7755), in the British Library (see C. Baker (ed.), Subject – Guide to the Arabic Manuscripts in the British Library, London, 2001, B. pp.30-31). There are forty various volumes in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (see U. Lyons, Handlist of the Arabic Manuscripts in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, 1966, volume VIII (Indexes). There are two volumes, dated 1033 AH/1623 AD and 1192 AH/1778 AD, in the John Rylands Library (see A. Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, 1934, pp.206-7, nos.125 [238] and 126 [641]. See also C. Brockelmann, GAL, I. 157, S. I. 260.