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Lot Essay
This impressive Qur'an has a number of documentary inscriptions by internal evidence, giving a sense of its long history. The text in the blue roundel at the end of the mushaf states that the Qur'an entered the collection of the Governor of Fars in Ramadan AH 1264, and that it lacked sura headings and annotation at that time. The back cover however bears the name of Ibrahim al-Qummi, and the date AH 1130 / 1717-8 AD, presumably a reference to the copying of the text. Al-Qummi was a prominent late Safavid calligrapher of the reigns of Shahs Sulayman and Sultan Husayn Bayani records works by him dated between AH 1098⁄1686-7 AD and Rabi‘ II AH 1118 / 1706 AD (Mehdi Bayani, Ahval va asar-e khosh-nevisan, vol. I, Tehran 1345 sh, pp.295-304, vol.II, 1346, pp. 305-7). He was also the teacher of the iconic late Safavid calligrapher Ahmad Nayrizi (see lot 37). Like Nayrizi, al-Qummi was particularly renowned for his naskh, which enhanced the legibility of late Safavid Qur'an manuscripts. This manuscript is also notable for its large size: though Qajar Qur'ans on this scale were produced in reasonable numbers, fewer survive from the late Safavid period. The reputation of the calligrapher and the impressive scale of the manuscript may account for why the manuscript was preserved, although it was unilluminated.
The colophon adds that illumination and sura headings were added by Muhammad Ali at the behest of a certain Mirza Abd al-Wahhab. The lacquer binding is signed by a certain Sa'id ibn Muhammad to the front cover. The governor for whom this was done was Muhammad Husayn Khan Muqaddam Maragha'i Nizam al-Dawla (d1866/7). He had taken on the post in AH 1260 / 1844 AD, following years as the Governor of Yazd and before that in various diplomatic and military roles, including that of ajudant-en-chef (Adjudan-basi). His tenure as Governor was marked by an ambitious project to divert the waters of the Sespir river to Shiraz, as well as a rivalry with Amir Kabir. After the outbreak of disturbances in Shiraz, Amir Kabir dismissed Husayn Khan from his post (H. Mahbubi Ardakani, "Hosayn Khan Ajudan-Basi", Encylocopaedia Iranica, 2013).
The illumination of this manuscript, with a large amount of plain gold in the frontispiece, is similar to another Qur'an which sold in these Rooms, 1 May 2025, lot 54. Like our manuscript, it was a Safavid text - signed by al-Qummi's pupil, Ahmad Nayrizi - which was illuminated between 1868 and 1870 for an important dignitary, in that case Hamza Mirza Hishmat al-Dawla. Another Ahmad Nazrizi Qur'an with Safavid illumination sold in these Rooms, 6 October 2009, lot 134.
The colophon adds that illumination and sura headings were added by Muhammad Ali at the behest of a certain Mirza Abd al-Wahhab. The lacquer binding is signed by a certain Sa'id ibn Muhammad to the front cover. The governor for whom this was done was Muhammad Husayn Khan Muqaddam Maragha'i Nizam al-Dawla (d1866/7). He had taken on the post in AH 1260 / 1844 AD, following years as the Governor of Yazd and before that in various diplomatic and military roles, including that of ajudant-en-chef (Adjudan-basi). His tenure as Governor was marked by an ambitious project to divert the waters of the Sespir river to Shiraz, as well as a rivalry with Amir Kabir. After the outbreak of disturbances in Shiraz, Amir Kabir dismissed Husayn Khan from his post (H. Mahbubi Ardakani, "Hosayn Khan Ajudan-Basi", Encylocopaedia Iranica, 2013).
The illumination of this manuscript, with a large amount of plain gold in the frontispiece, is similar to another Qur'an which sold in these Rooms, 1 May 2025, lot 54. Like our manuscript, it was a Safavid text - signed by al-Qummi's pupil, Ahmad Nayrizi - which was illuminated between 1868 and 1870 for an important dignitary, in that case Hamza Mirza Hishmat al-Dawla. Another Ahmad Nazrizi Qur'an with Safavid illumination sold in these Rooms, 6 October 2009, lot 134.