An Important Collection of Illuminated Manuscripts

An Important Collection of Illuminated Manuscripts

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  An Illuminated Hilye, Signed by Mehmet Sadiq Agha Mermer Humayun Shahinshah, Turkey, Ottoman, Dated 1255 AH/1839-40 AD
  Estimate £6,000–8,000

  This magnificent hilye was painted in the Ottoman empire in the middle of the 19th century and is one of the finest examples of its kind, lavishly illuminated, it bears the name of the Prophet in the middle and the four Caliphs in roundels around.

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  An Illuminated Collection of Prayers, Including Dala’il Al-Khayrat, North India, 19th Century
  Estimate £10,000–15,000
  

  The Dala’il al-Khayrat was particularly popular in North Africa, Tukey during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Copies made in India are rarer and the current one bears a fine representation of Mecca and Medina.

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  A Large Illuminated Qur’an, Copied by Ahmed Al-Ilhami, Student of Ali Al-Hamdi, Student of Osman Wali, Known as Damad Al-‘Afif, Turkey, Ottoman, Dated 1270 AH/1853-54 AD
  Estimate £40,000 GBP–60,000

  This magnificent Qur’an is impressive not only for its size, but also for its fine calligraphy and lavish illumination. The opening double-page is a fine example of the decorative repertoire of the Ottoman rococo style which combined elements of Ottoman traditional illumination with European baroque features.

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  A Large Qur’an Leaf in Kufic Script on Vellum, North Africa or Near East, circa 750-800 AD
  Estimate £8,000–12,000

  This Qur'an leaf and that of lot 5 come from a dispersed Qur’an of great interest, which is notable for its distinctive script and unusual illumination. Written on vellum, it is notable for its size and bold script as well distinctive illumination.

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  Mehmed ibn Ali Sipahizade Bursawi, Awdah al-masalik ila ma'rifat al-buldan wa a-mamalik, a geographical dictionary derived from various early Arab geographies, Ottoman provinces, 977 AH/1569 AD
  Estimate £10,000–15,000

  This manuscript is an interesting compendium of geography written in the Ottoman world, collating the geographical knowledge in the Islamic lands up until the 16th century.

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  An exceptional illuminated Qur’an, Persia, Safavid, first half 16th century
  Estimate 80,000–120,000

  This is a fine Safavid Qur’an from the first half of the sixteenth century. The decoration of the illuminated frontispiece is very similar to that found in a Qur’an now in the Topkapi Palace Library, dated 921 AH/1516 AD (inv.no. TIEM232, published in Farhad & Rettig 2016, n.42, p.266). In both manuscripts the text is framed by clouds and written against a gold ground decorated by polychrome interlacing flowers. The borders are lavishly decorated with gold scrolls against a cobalt blue ground.

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  A Qur’an, Sub-Saharan West Africa, second half 19th century
  Estimate £10,000–15,000

  Qur’ans from Sub-Saharan Africa are rare, this copy is interesting as written on paper with three watermarks, attesting the trade of European paper up to Sub-Saharan Africa. Usually unbound, Sub-Saharan Qur’ans were written in a very distinctive script and decorated with a varied palette of colour, distinctive of the area.

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  A large and finely-illuminated Qur'an, copied by Muhammad Shafi' b. 'Ali Askar al-Arsanjani, illuminated by Reza Sani’ Humayun, Persia, Qajar, dated 1283 AH/1866-67 AD
  Estimate £30,000–50,000

  This magnificent Qur'an has all the hallmarks of the most refined manuscripts of the Qajar period. Along with the name of the scribe, Ali 'Askar Arsanjani, we are also given the name of the illuminator, Reza Sani’ Humayun. On the finispiece page, just above the colophon, the patron is addressed and, although his name has been rubbed out, he is described as a cultured and intelligent man. The lavishness and richness of this manuscript points towards a royal or at least noble patronage.

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