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Lot Essay
This charming small Qur'an is highly unusual for its date. Produced in Palestine during the Mamluk period, its design harks back to a much earlier period. The layout of the opening bifolio with sura al-fatiha and the beginning of sura al-baqara is more typical of Qur'ans produced from the 11th to the 13th centuries. The use of silver in the titles is also very unusual. The marginal medallions are similarly archaistic and the beautiful double page of illumination at the start of the manuscript is also more typical of the 13th century. The red hatching around the colophon folio is more typical of Mamluk Qur'an production.
The last part of the colophon gives the place of copying of the manuscript as Bayt Lahm, although the words are slightly indistinct. This village in Palestine has been an important place of pilgrimage for Christians since the 4th century. It has also been venerated by Muslims as the birthplace of Jesus, and is noteworthy in Islam for the miraculous palm of Qur'an xlx, 25 and the location of the mihrab of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Far from the normal centres of Mamluk book production, this provincial provenance would explain the unusual layout, illumination and paper.
The last part of the colophon gives the place of copying of the manuscript as Bayt Lahm, although the words are slightly indistinct. This village in Palestine has been an important place of pilgrimage for Christians since the 4th century. It has also been venerated by Muslims as the birthplace of Jesus, and is noteworthy in Islam for the miraculous palm of Qur'an xlx, 25 and the location of the mihrab of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Far from the normal centres of Mamluk book production, this provincial provenance would explain the unusual layout, illumination and paper.