An illuminated Qur’an, copied by ‘Abd al-Latif al-Sayfi Uzbek, Egypt, Mamluk, dated 876 AH/1472 AD

Auction Closed

October 26, 12:30 PM GMT

Estimate

40,000 - 60,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Arabic manuscript on paper, 282 leaves plus 2 fly-leaves, 12 lines to the page, written in naskh in black ink, verses separated by three inverted red commas, surah headings in red riqa, f.1a with a blue and gold shamsa, ff.1b and 2a with an illuminated frontispiece, f.282a with the end of surah al-Nas and the colophon ruled in gold and interspersed by gold and polychrome rosettes, f.282b with a shamsa bearing an endowment note, in a red leather modern binding, with flap

35.1 by 27.5cm.

N. Safwat, A Collector’s Eye. Islamic calligraphy in Qur’ans and other manuscripts, London 2010, no.49, pp.200-5.

This impressive and complete copy of the Qur’an is a great rarity as it was written by a member of the royal family and was intended for either an emir or the Sultan himself. Copied during the beginning of the reign of Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qaytbay (r.1468-96 AD), it attests to the cultural vibrance of the end of the Mamluk empire. It was under Qaytbay’s patronage that numerous Qur’ans were copied and endowed to foundations. A recent example is the monumental Qur’an dated 894 AH/1489 AD sold in Christie’s London, 2 May 2019, lot 11.

The present Qur’an is indeed part of this trend but also an exception as it was not just copied in the scriptorium but by a member of the royal family. The nisba al-Sayfi indicates that the scribe belonged to the household of Sayf al-Din (Burji). The manuscript was inspected by H.J. Goodacre, acting Head of the Arabic section in the Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed books at the British Library, in May 1984 who noted that "the royal medallion on the last folio indicates that the scribe was at the time himself a Mamluk ruler."