Arts of the Islamic World and India, including Fine Rugs and Carpets
Arts of the Islamic World and India, including Fine Rugs and Carpets
An illuminated Qur'an leaf in Kufic script on vellum, North Africa or Near East, 9th-10th century AD
Auction Closed
April 26, 01:36 PM GMT
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
text: surah al-ma'idah (V), middle to end of v.81
Arabic manuscript on vellum, 4 lines to the page written in Kufic in dark brown ink, diacritics in red, green and dark brown, a band of stylised ropework in gold above and below and a marginal illuminated palmette marking the end of juz' 6, the reverse plain due to end of juz'
14.9 by 21.5cm.
Manuscripts employing this variation of Kufic, relating to Déroche's group 'D.I’ and ‘D.III' styles, seem to emphasise the power and significance of the text through bold letter forms and large scale (Déroche 1992, pp.40-41). The confident execution of the calligraphy on this leaf is framed by elegantly illuminated ropework bands and a marginal medallion which define the text area indicating the end of the juz’, and were most likely mirrored on the opposite page. The arrangement of the illumination is similar to a Kufic Qur’an leaf sold in these rooms, 12 October 2000, lot 32, and a Qur'an section in the Pierpoint Morgan Library, New York (inv.no.MS.657, Schmitz 1997, fig.147).