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Lot Essay
The tradition of talismans within the Islamic world has a long history of using the Qur'an and Qur'anic material to protect the carrier or wearer against evil. Our large talismanic scroll finds similarities with scrolls in the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya (DAI), Kuwait (LNS12MS and LNS25MS). While the format of these scrolls are by no means templated, there are key characteristics shared between all three which suggests that they were completed around the same period.
In all three scrolls, the outer borders are written in black and red naskh repeating sura ya-sin and sura al-ikhlas respectively. In addition, our scroll also contains part of sura al-insan in the black naskh border which was also purported to have important talismanic properties. Yasmine Al-Saleh posits that the first two suras are “the two significant Qur’anic chapters in talismanic literature” and are typically said to possess apotropaic qualities (Yasmine Al-Saleh, "Licit Magic": The Touch And Sight Of Islamic Talismanic Scrolls. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, 2014, p.127).
The arrangement of the text on the rest of our scroll is also similar to those in the DAI, with roundels reserved against gold appearing in all three. Further to this, our scroll follows the expected format with seven haykals (sanctuaries). The theme of these haykals is the “oneness of God, the importance of Qur’anic recitation as a veil of protection, and seeking refuge in morals found in Prophetic stories from the Qur’an” (Al-Saleh, op.cit., p.128). They are essentially chapters which recount the struggles of daily life and call on God in supplication to help remedy these issues. It is these haykals which ultimately are said to provide the scroll with their talismanic properties.
Seven, which appears frequently throughout our scroll, is the most magically charged number in Islam. This is for a number of reasons, principally among these: the creation of the world in seven days and the number of verses in sura al-Fatiha, which in turn correspond to the seven heavens (Al-Saleh, op.cit., pp.133-134). Not only are there are seven haykals but there are seven magic charts as well. The charts take the shape of a Qur’anic lawh (tablet) with the numbers representing letters of the alphabet which can be deciphered to unlock a ‘magic’ phrase. This numerical structure is woven both intertextually and aesthetically with seven recurring through all the different elements.
Interestingly, our scroll contains a specific talismanic message; lil dukhul ‘ala al-ahabar (?) 'upon entry to the rabbis' (?). This could potentially be fortifying the carrier of the scroll with good fortune when entering into a rabbinic setting. A similar one can be found on LNS25MS which is titled lil dukhul ‘ala al-malaka 'upon entry to the kings' and would have been used to combat any anxiety before appearing at court. This is then followed by an excerpt from sura al-Ma’idah which focuses on the children of Israel and encourages Moses to place his trust in God – a fitting sura to choose if one is lacking courage.
Al-Saleh dates the two scrolls in the DAI to the Mamluk period between the period of Sultan Baybars II (r.1308-10) and Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq (r.1399-1402). This is based on two dated Mamluk Qur’ans in the British Library (Add22406 and Add22408) which have the same floriated kufic and vegetal scrollwork as in LNS25MS. In addition, Al-Saleh identifies the “black ink, gold rosettes, and the red circular markers” of the LNS12MS scroll as “reminiscent of features found on Mamluk works on paper and in the art of the book” (Yasmine Al-Saleh, “Amulets and Talismans of the Middle East and North Africa in Context”, Leiden Studies in Islam and Society, Volume: 13, Leiden, 2022, pp.162-179).
Another talismanic scroll with similar illumination and haykal structure was sold at Sotheby’s London, 9 October 2013, lot 52.
In all three scrolls, the outer borders are written in black and red naskh repeating sura ya-sin and sura al-ikhlas respectively. In addition, our scroll also contains part of sura al-insan in the black naskh border which was also purported to have important talismanic properties. Yasmine Al-Saleh posits that the first two suras are “the two significant Qur’anic chapters in talismanic literature” and are typically said to possess apotropaic qualities (Yasmine Al-Saleh, "Licit Magic": The Touch And Sight Of Islamic Talismanic Scrolls. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, 2014, p.127).
The arrangement of the text on the rest of our scroll is also similar to those in the DAI, with roundels reserved against gold appearing in all three. Further to this, our scroll follows the expected format with seven haykals (sanctuaries). The theme of these haykals is the “oneness of God, the importance of Qur’anic recitation as a veil of protection, and seeking refuge in morals found in Prophetic stories from the Qur’an” (Al-Saleh, op.cit., p.128). They are essentially chapters which recount the struggles of daily life and call on God in supplication to help remedy these issues. It is these haykals which ultimately are said to provide the scroll with their talismanic properties.
Seven, which appears frequently throughout our scroll, is the most magically charged number in Islam. This is for a number of reasons, principally among these: the creation of the world in seven days and the number of verses in sura al-Fatiha, which in turn correspond to the seven heavens (Al-Saleh, op.cit., pp.133-134). Not only are there are seven haykals but there are seven magic charts as well. The charts take the shape of a Qur’anic lawh (tablet) with the numbers representing letters of the alphabet which can be deciphered to unlock a ‘magic’ phrase. This numerical structure is woven both intertextually and aesthetically with seven recurring through all the different elements.
Interestingly, our scroll contains a specific talismanic message; lil dukhul ‘ala al-ahabar (?) 'upon entry to the rabbis' (?). This could potentially be fortifying the carrier of the scroll with good fortune when entering into a rabbinic setting. A similar one can be found on LNS25MS which is titled lil dukhul ‘ala al-malaka 'upon entry to the kings' and would have been used to combat any anxiety before appearing at court. This is then followed by an excerpt from sura al-Ma’idah which focuses on the children of Israel and encourages Moses to place his trust in God – a fitting sura to choose if one is lacking courage.
Al-Saleh dates the two scrolls in the DAI to the Mamluk period between the period of Sultan Baybars II (r.1308-10) and Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq (r.1399-1402). This is based on two dated Mamluk Qur’ans in the British Library (Add22406 and Add22408) which have the same floriated kufic and vegetal scrollwork as in LNS25MS. In addition, Al-Saleh identifies the “black ink, gold rosettes, and the red circular markers” of the LNS12MS scroll as “reminiscent of features found on Mamluk works on paper and in the art of the book” (Yasmine Al-Saleh, “Amulets and Talismans of the Middle East and North Africa in Context”, Leiden Studies in Islam and Society, Volume: 13, Leiden, 2022, pp.162-179).
Another talismanic scroll with similar illumination and haykal structure was sold at Sotheby’s London, 9 October 2013, lot 52.