An illuminated Qur’an juz (V), Mamluk Egypt or Konya, 14th/15th century

Auction Closed

October 26, 12:30 PM GMT

Estimate

12,000 - 18,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

text: surah al-Nisa (IV), v.24 to v.147

Arabic manuscript on cream polished paper, 49 leaves plus 1 fly-leaf, 5 lines to the page, written in muhaqqaq in black ink, verses separated by gold and polychrome rosettes, tenth verse marked with gold and polychrome roundels in the margins, fifth verse marked with a polychrome and gold palmette, f.1a with a gold and polychrome illumination consisting of an eight-lobed central design encircled by geometrical and floral scrolls in gold, blue, green and red, f.1b with the juz title written in white tawqi outlined in gold, against a red ground within a green and blue cartouche, in brown leather binding decorated with a central stamped medallion, the doublures with interlacing designs, with flap

23.2 by 16.5cm.

Please note that the attribution of this manuscript should be ‘Mamluk Egypt or Konya, 14th/15th century’ and not as stated in the printed catalogue.

N. Safwat, A Collector’s Eye. Islamic calligraphy in Qur’ans and other manuscripts, London 2010, no.48, pp.196-9.

This volume is closely related to a Qur’an juz in the Khalili Collection (inv.no. QUR 132) and another in the Inebey Kutuphanesi (inv.no. Genel 5062), sharing an almost identical size, organisation of the opening illumination and arrangement of text. Although the study of illuminated manuscripts from late medieval Anatolia has been somewhat neglected in comparison to other centres of manuscript production, through close analysis of aesthetic aspects, Dr Cailah Jackson has suggested an attribution for this group of juz to Konya, circa 1300-1350. For further information see Cailah Jackson, "An Illuminated Manuscript of Early Fourteenth-Century Konya? Anīs al-Qulūb (MS Ayasofya 2984, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Istanbul)" in Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 8.1 (2017): 85-122.