Lot 1

In 2012 an extremely generous benefactor donated a very impressive group of Islamic and Indian works on paper to benefit the University of Oxford. Christie's was asked to handle the sale and we have been delighted that in two sales over 2,600,000 has been raised to benefit the Bodleian Library and the Oriental Institute. From its very inception manuscripts from the Islamic world have had their place in the Bodleian. When it was set up in 1602, the collection already included a copy of the Qur'an in Arabic, and the same year that Qur'an was joined by a Persian manuscript. Today the Bodleian's holdings of Arabic manuscripts stand at some 2,350 whilst there are 2,530 Persian manuscripts which include scientific texts, poetry and illustrated manuscripts. The Persian illuminated and illustrated manuscripts are a highlight of the collection. The present donation is made as the latest of a succession of generous gifts to the Bodleian Library, which is now the most important library in the United Kingdom for Persian manuscripts after the British Library. Amongst its highlights, this sale features important calligraphic manuscripts, one copied by 'Abd al-Rahim al-Ya'qubi, the royal scribe at the court of the Aqquyunlu Sultan Ya'qub; a manuscript possibly in the hand of Hassan Shamlu and a Munajat of the Imam 'Ali copied during the final years of the reign of Shah Isma'il. The sale also features illustrated manuscripts from Iran and paintings from Bukhara, including two by the leading artist working in the Shaybanid capital, Mahmud Muzahhib and one by his student 'Abdullah. There are also important Indian works including an impressive double-sided folio from the St. Petersburg Muraqqa. The donation is made with particular generosity since, rather than donating the works of art directly to the University of Oxford, the donor is using his collection to allow Oxford to achieve what they would like with the funds raised by their sale, with the agreed joint aim of furthering knowledge about and interest in Persian studies. Part of the money will go towards funding extra curatorial support for the Persian collections at the Bodleian Library, while further funds will go towards setting up a chair in Sassanian studies, the only such post in the United Kingdom. On a personal level, our department has particular pleasure in handling this series of sales. As an alumna of the University of Oxford, I am delighted to be able to give something back to the institution. William Robinson also has strong ties. In 1935, his father, B.W. Robinson wrote his B.Litt thesis on the Persian illustrated manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. This was substantially updated and published in 1958 as A Descriptive Catalogue of the Persian Paintings in the Bodleian Library, a book that is still the best reference on the subject. In both our professional and personal capacities therefore, we are delighted to be able to achieve this wonderful goal on behalf of an extraordinarily generous collector. Sara Plumbly

QUR'AN BIFOLIUM

ANATOLIA OR CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 1335

Details

QUR'AN BIFOLIUM
ANATOLIA OR CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 1335
Qur'an LXXXIII, sura al-tafif, end v.35 to Qur'an LXXXIV, sura al-inshiqaq middle v.6, each with 3ll. of elegant strong muhaqqaq in black ink on cream paper, interlinear Persian translation written diagonally in small black naskh, gold and polychrome illuminated verse roundels, sura heading in white in an oval cusped cartouche on a ground of polychrome scrolling vine outlined in gold, attached marginal palmette, both with blue outlines, in card mount
Folio 11 3/8 x 7 3/8in. (28.8 x 18.9cm.)

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Lot Essay

This bifolio comes from a well-known Qur'an, believed to be of either Anatolian or Central Asian origin. A number of the folios has distinctive later added border illumination, and extracts from the hadith written in red and blue kufic. David James comments that whilst found on earlier kufic manuscripts, the arrangement of only 3 lines per page is very unusual to find in Qur'ans of cursive script. The only Mamluk example known is the multi-part Qur'an produced by Ibn al-Wahid and Sandal (David James, Qur'ans of the Mamluks, London, 1988, p.173). It would of course thus have required a lot of expensive material to produce and was probably the commission of an important patron.

Other leaves still in their original state, as this example, have sold at Sotheby's, 22 April 1999, lot 11, 18 October 2001, lots 13-15 and 16 October 2002, lots 6-9.

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