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Lot Essay
The colophon translates ‘One of what was copied for the treasury of the Magnificent King … our Master Amir al-Mu’minin al-Ghalib Billah Abu Muhammad ’Abdallah, son of our Holy Master, the deceased by the grace of God, Abu ’Abdallah Muhammad al-Shaykh al-Ma’mun Billah, son of our Master Amir al-Mu’minin, the one who strives (al-mujahid) in the path of the Lord of the Worlds, al-Mansur Billah bin al-Shaykh al-Mahdi Billah, may God perpetuate their sultanates … His (i.e. God’s) slave, Salih bin Hurmatallah bin Salih bin Khulayf bin Muhammad al-Kufani wrote it … in Ramadan year kaf ha (?) h[ijiri] (?).”
The colophon appears to bear the abjad date kaf and ha. The numerical values of these two letters represent 20 and 5 respectively, adding up to 25. The colophon also indicates that it was copied for Amir al-Mu’minin al-Ghalib Billah Abu Muhammad ’Abdallah who appears to be ’Abdallah II (r.1613-23), the recorded ruler of a splinter Sa’dian state in Fes. The full hijri date on the colophon must therefore read Ramadan AH [10]25 which is September-October 1616. A later hand has copied the colophon on the facing page, ending with the date of [1]616. It is not entirely clear what the present of the letter ha in the second colophon indicates. Although Moroccan manuscripts are usually dated with western numerals, eastern numerals have been used here.
This Qur’an was copied for ’Abdullah II, the ruler of Fes between 1613 and 1623. He was the son of Muhammad al-Shaykh, the eighth sultan of the Sa’dian dynasty (r.1608-13) who had local power in Fes only. The present Qur’an, as the other royal Moroccan Qur’an Lot 47.
in this sale, shows how important the commissions of luxurious manuscripts were to the Sa’di rulers. Whilst the refined opening and closing bifolio demonstrate a rich use of gold in the tradition of royal Qur’ans, the relatively standard maghribi cursive indicate that the skills of a master of calligraphy were probably not available at the court of 'Abdallah II who ruled on this small state at a time of political turmoil. It is only in 1628 that Fes and Marrakesh are reunited under one ruler.
The Qur’an in the British Library MS.Or.1340 (already discussed in the note to lot 47) closely relates to the present manuscript. Although written 50 years earlier, it uses a very similar style of illumination. Our Qur’an however has text frames, indicating that it belongs to the later tradiction of the 17th and 18th century as does the celebrated Escorial Qur’an of 1599 AD copied in Marrakesh (Martin Lings, The Qur’anic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination, London, 1976, pls.106-107). See also another Qur’an in the British Library, dated 1701-02 AD (Or.13382, Lings, op.cit., pl.111).
The colophon appears to bear the abjad date kaf and ha. The numerical values of these two letters represent 20 and 5 respectively, adding up to 25. The colophon also indicates that it was copied for Amir al-Mu’minin al-Ghalib Billah Abu Muhammad ’Abdallah who appears to be ’Abdallah II (r.1613-23), the recorded ruler of a splinter Sa’dian state in Fes. The full hijri date on the colophon must therefore read Ramadan AH [10]25 which is September-October 1616. A later hand has copied the colophon on the facing page, ending with the date of [1]616. It is not entirely clear what the present of the letter ha in the second colophon indicates. Although Moroccan manuscripts are usually dated with western numerals, eastern numerals have been used here.
This Qur’an was copied for ’Abdullah II, the ruler of Fes between 1613 and 1623. He was the son of Muhammad al-Shaykh, the eighth sultan of the Sa’dian dynasty (r.1608-13) who had local power in Fes only. The present Qur’an, as the other royal Moroccan Qur’an Lot 47.
in this sale, shows how important the commissions of luxurious manuscripts were to the Sa’di rulers. Whilst the refined opening and closing bifolio demonstrate a rich use of gold in the tradition of royal Qur’ans, the relatively standard maghribi cursive indicate that the skills of a master of calligraphy were probably not available at the court of 'Abdallah II who ruled on this small state at a time of political turmoil. It is only in 1628 that Fes and Marrakesh are reunited under one ruler.
The Qur’an in the British Library MS.Or.1340 (already discussed in the note to lot 47) closely relates to the present manuscript. Although written 50 years earlier, it uses a very similar style of illumination. Our Qur’an however has text frames, indicating that it belongs to the later tradiction of the 17th and 18th century as does the celebrated Escorial Qur’an of 1599 AD copied in Marrakesh (Martin Lings, The Qur’anic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination, London, 1976, pls.106-107). See also another Qur’an in the British Library, dated 1701-02 AD (Or.13382, Lings, op.cit., pl.111).