WITH PROBABLY ADDED SIGNATURE OF AHMAD AL-NAYRIZI, IRAN, DATED AH 1134/1721-22 AD

Details

QUR'AN
WITH PROBABLY ADDED SIGNATURE OF AHMAD AL-NAYRIZI, IRAN, DATED AH 1134/1721-22 AD
Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper, 283ff. plus 2 fly-leaves, each folio with 15ll. of neat black naskh in clouds reserved against gold ground, text panels laid down within gold and polychrome rules on later Qajar margins with polychrome outer rules framing a band of gold cusps, the margins with catchwords in gold boteh motifs and medallions in the upper outer corners indicating the suras, gold and polychrome roundel verse markers, sura headings in gold thuluth on panels of gold and polychrome illumination, hizb, nisf and juz' marked in the margins in elaborate cartouches, commentary in black nasta'liq contained within gold ground cartouches in the margins, first bifolium with chequerboard lattice containing the names of the suras on alternating blue and gold octagons, second bifolium with two illuminated calligraphic roundels on densely illuminated ground, third bifolium with dense illumination surrounding 6ll. of text, final folio with the name of Ahmad al-Nayrizi and the date written in tiny naskh above the b'ism of the first verse of sura al-nas, first and final folios with copious later owner's notes, the illumination throughout done in the Qajar period, in contemporaneous lacquer binding with floral design on gold ground surrounded by smaller floral cartouches, doublures with a cusped cartouche issuing two pendants, each containing pale calligraphy on black ground, the cartouches reserved against a red ground with elegant scrolling, flowering vine
Text panel 7 3/8 x 4½in. (18.8 x 11.3cm.); folio 11½ x 7 3/8in. (29 x 18.8cm.)

Brought to you by

Andrew Butler-Wheelhouse

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

abutler-wheelhouse@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2372

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

Ahmad Nayrizi (fl. 1682-1722 AD) was born in the town of Nayriz in Fars. His primary master in naskh was Muhammad Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Nasir Qumi, known as Aqa Ibrahim Qumi (fl. 1659-1707 AD). In the late 17th century Nayrizi settled in Isfahan and came to the attention of Shah Sultan Husayn (r. 1694-1722 AD) who became an important patron and by whom Nayrizi was given the honorific surname Sultani. He produced work for royal patrons for almost two decades.

Combining strength with elegance, Nayrizi's hand, as described by Raby, is a confident one, characterized by exceptionally well-formed letters. Its most striking features are its relatively large size and the wide spacing of the lines of text (Nabil Safwat, The Art of the Pen, The Nasser D. Collection of Islamic Art, London, 1996, p. 212). It is with Ahmad Nayrizi that we find the development of a distinctly Iranian naskh, that went on to be used as the standard Qur'anic hand throughout the 19th century. A prayer book copied by Nayrizi is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, (inv. 2003.239, illustrated in: Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2011, no. 191, pp. 272-274). A Qur'an copied by him sold in these Rooms, 4 October 2012, lot 28.

More from A Private Collection Donated to Benefit the University of Oxford, Part III

View All