MAMLUK SYRIA OR EGYPT, LATE 14TH CENTURY

It is very rare that Qur'an folios of this size appear on the market. Nearly all the known examples of Qur'an manuscripts of this size are in public collections, the majority of which are held in the National Library in Cairo, (inv. 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15 and 54, published in David James, Qur'ans of the Mamluks, London, 1988). Many of these large-scale Qur'ans were commissioned by the Cairo-based Bahri Mamluk Sultans and date mostly to the second half of the 14th century. The colour of the pink paper of this Qur'an is also exceptional. The pink colour is often associated with Qur'an manuscripts from the Western Islamic World. For example see lots 82 and 86. The elegant muhaqqaq of this folio confirms its Egyptian or Levantine Mamluk origin.