SIGNED SULAYMAN AL-ISFAHANI, SAFAVID IRAN, LATE 16TH CENTURY

Details

QUR'AN
SIGNED SULAYMAN AL-ISFAHANI, SAFAVID IRAN, LATE 16TH CENTURY
Arabic manuscript on paper, 430ff. plus seven flyleaves, each folio with 9ll. black naskh, gold roundel verse markers, sura headings in white thuluth reserved against gold cusped cartouches set within polychrome panels, set within gold and polychrome rules, the margins plain with illuminated medallions to mark divisions, the opening bifolio with 9ll. reserved against gold cloudbands set within gold and polychrome illuminated margins, the colophon signed with the final page moved and pasted to f.1r, in later burgundy binding, the doublures paper, minor restorations
Text panel 7 x 4 ¾in. (17.9 x 12.2cm.); folio 10 1/8 x 7 ½in. (25.8 x 19.1cm.)

Provenance

Collection of Madame Z sold Etude Tajan, Paris, 9 June 1995, lot 89, when purchased by the current owner

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Sara Plumbly Director, Head of Department

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

splumbly@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2374

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The opening folio in gold tawqi‘ states that the scribe Sulayman al-Isfahani wrote four multi-volume Qur’ans, which were donated to four shrines dedicated to Imam 'Ali, Imam Husayn, the Kazimayn, and an unidentifiable Imam, respectively. It also states that the present Qur'an was dedicated to a shrine, but the text is too damaged to identify the specific site.

In the lavishness of its illumination, the present Qur'an is reminiscent of the best manuscripts of 16th-century Shiraz. The elegant hand is, on the opening bifolio, set against a gold ground with floral arabesques that is also seen on a Qur'an manuscript sold in these Rooms, 26 October 2023, lot 60. Other Shirazi Qur'ans of the period were sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2018, lot 109 and 27 April 2023, lots 26 and 27.

More from Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Rugs and Carpets

View All