AN ILLUMINATED MINIATURE QUR’AN SECTION ON VELLUM, PERSIA, LATE 9TH/EARLY 10TH CENTURY AD |

text: surah al-Baqarah (II), vv.1-138 Arabic manuscript on vellum, 38 leaves plus 2 fly-leaves, 8 lines to the page written in 'New Style' in dark brown ink, f.1a with one surah heading in gold outlined in black, verses separated by gold palmettes, verse markers in gold, misbound and incomplete, in brown stamped binding decorated with a central medallion within a frame of interlacing geometrical motifs

In generally good condition, the margins have been cropped but are clean, misbound and some pages are missing, see below for a full list of verses present. Stains and smudges, consistent with its age. The later binding restored, as viewed. The manuscript has been misbound and the leafs are as follows: ff. 1-15: surah al-Baqarah (II), v.1 to middle of v.57 ff. 16-32: surah al-Baqarah (II), end of v.60 to middle of v.105 f. 33: surah al-Baqarah (II), middle of v.125 to middle of v.127 f. 34: surah al-Baqarah (II), end of v.135 to middle of v.138 f. 35: surah al-Baqarah (II), v.112 to beginning of v.114 f. 36: surah al-Baqarah (II), middle of v.109 to end of v.111 f. 37: surah al-Baqarah (II), middle of v.118 to middle of v.121 f. 38: surah al-Baqarah (II), middle of v.114 to middle of v.118
"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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This Qur'an section is a testament to the New Style, commonly known as Eastern Kufic. Easier to read and write compared to Kufic, this New Style developed in the tenth century in Central Asia and Persia and evolved in various sub-groups, this section being an example of NS III. The shift to a vertical format affected not only the script but also the decoration: “illuminators also introduced a new type of composition to mark the beginning of the text: to balance the overall effect of the frontispiece, the first sura was written on the left-hand page” (Déroche in Farhad 2016, p.72). This change is evident in the current section, where the first six verses of the first surah would have started on the right hand side and the second surah begins on f.1a. A page from the same Qur’an is now in the Freer Sackler Gallery, Washington, Acc.No.S1997.92. Several ajza' of this Qur'an are now in the Chester Beatty Library (juz III, V, IX, X, XVIII and XIX; in.no.MS.1417; published in James 1980, p.26). At the end of juz XIX, there is a statement in Persian which says that it was corrected (durust bi-kard) in Sha'ban 292 AH/June 905 by Ahmad b. Abu'l Qasim al-Khayqani, dating it to circa 900 AD, making it one of the earliest Qur'ans in Eastern Kufic (see James 1980, p.26 and Arberry 1967, p.10). Other leaves from this Qur'an were sold in these rooms, 20 November 1986, lot 280; 14 December 1987, lot 198, and 29 April 1990, lot 141.

The margins have been trimmed and thus the binding is unlikely to be the original one. The very same binding is recorded in the Chester Beatty sections and is probably datable to shortly after the manuscript's production itself (see James 1980, p.119).