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Lot Essay
One of the more interesting elements here, not found on many comparable Qur'ans, but well known in Sultanate India, are the pointed lobed medallions at the top and bottom of the text panels and what David James refers to the as the fine Chinese-type 'jui' motifs with floral sprays that project into the outer margins. A similar Qur'an with the same features, dated AH 868 is attributed to Timurid Iran (David James, Qur'ans and Bindings from the Chester Beatty Library, London, 1980, no.53, p.71). Another Qur'an with similar, although cusped, medallions that project into the margins of the heavily illuminated frontispiece is in the Nasser D. Khalili collection which is attributed to Iran or Turkey and dated to the second half of the 15th century (David James, After Timur, London, 1992, no. 18, p. 70-75).
The combination of Timurid and Ottoman features in the layout and illumination of this Qur'an make the determination of a definite provenance difficult. Because Ottoman artists had not yet fully developed their own distinctive style by this period, hybrid varieties of illumination are not unknown their work. Furthermore in the 15th century, under Timurid influence, the new style that Persian miniaturists were beginning to develop in the illumination for their volumes of poetry began to creep into the world of Qur'ans, slowly replacing the older Mongol style of illumination in Iraq and Persia, as well as to a certain extent in Turkey (Martin Lings, The Qur'anic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination, Kent, 1996, p. 171). In this Qur'an, the combination of multiple scripts on the same page (including the ornamental Eastern Kufic sura headings) and the bright orange within the colour scheme are typical features of Timurid Qur'ans. Other elements such as the controlled naskh punctuated by rosette verse-markers, conversely suggest an early Ottoman provenance. Another Qu'ran that shares all these mixed features is in the Beit al Qur'an. It is dated to the 15/16th century but not attributed to a particular country (Abdul Latif Jassim Kanoo, Beit Al Qur'an, Bahrain, 1996, p. 115).
There are two recorded 15th century scribes with the name Ghiyath which may push us towards a Timurid attribution. They are Ghiyath al-Din Fazlullah Radkani, who is reported as a scribe who wrote all styles well and was respected by kings, rulers and governors and died in AH 867/1462-3 AD in Herat. No surviving work is recorded by him. The other is Ghiyath al-Din Qasimi, a scribe who copied the divan of Zahir Faryabbi in AH 883/1478-9 AD (Mehdi Bayani, Ahaval va Asar-e Khosh-Nevisan, Vol. II, Teheran, 1346 sh., p.558).
The combination of Timurid and Ottoman features in the layout and illumination of this Qur'an make the determination of a definite provenance difficult. Because Ottoman artists had not yet fully developed their own distinctive style by this period, hybrid varieties of illumination are not unknown their work. Furthermore in the 15th century, under Timurid influence, the new style that Persian miniaturists were beginning to develop in the illumination for their volumes of poetry began to creep into the world of Qur'ans, slowly replacing the older Mongol style of illumination in Iraq and Persia, as well as to a certain extent in Turkey (Martin Lings, The Qur'anic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination, Kent, 1996, p. 171). In this Qur'an, the combination of multiple scripts on the same page (including the ornamental Eastern Kufic sura headings) and the bright orange within the colour scheme are typical features of Timurid Qur'ans. Other elements such as the controlled naskh punctuated by rosette verse-markers, conversely suggest an early Ottoman provenance. Another Qu'ran that shares all these mixed features is in the Beit al Qur'an. It is dated to the 15/16th century but not attributed to a particular country (Abdul Latif Jassim Kanoo, Beit Al Qur'an, Bahrain, 1996, p. 115).
There are two recorded 15th century scribes with the name Ghiyath which may push us towards a Timurid attribution. They are Ghiyath al-Din Fazlullah Radkani, who is reported as a scribe who wrote all styles well and was respected by kings, rulers and governors and died in AH 867/1462-3 AD in Herat. No surviving work is recorded by him. The other is Ghiyath al-Din Qasimi, a scribe who copied the divan of Zahir Faryabbi in AH 883/1478-9 AD (Mehdi Bayani, Ahaval va Asar-e Khosh-Nevisan, Vol. II, Teheran, 1346 sh., p.558).