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Lot Essay
This splendid section originates from a lavishly produced Qur’an in 30 parts made for the Zangid Prince Qutb al-Din Abu’l Muzaffar Muhammad who ruled over Sinjar, Khabur and Nusaybin in Northern Mesopotamia (al-Jazirah) from 1198 to 1219.
This Qur’an section comes from a manuscript which is in many ways unique. Fortunately we are able to accurately date and place the production of the manuscript due to a colophon found on the 28th section which is now in the Khalili Collection. David James confirms that “under any circumstances the Sinjar Qur’an would have been considered one of the finest 13th-century Qur’ans known, but the precise nature of its dating and provenance increases it importance greatly. In the late 12th and early 13th centuries the Jazirah was one of the most fertile regions in the Islamic world for architecture, minor arts and secular manuscripts. Despite this, the Qur’an made for Qutb ad-Din Muhammad is the only Qur’an known to have been made for any of the Zangid rulers of the Jazirah” (Inv. QUR497, David James, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art - The Master Scribes, volume II, London, 1992, cat. no. 7).
Another rare feature of this Qur’an is the use of the decorative thuluth in which the entire text is copied. This script is usually only used in the writing of chapter headings. Michael Rogers observes “the conspicuous use of lapis blue, one of the most expensive of medieval pigments, was to become standard in the illumination of Qur’ans, and the use of a translucent red wash to enhance the gold was to become a feature of Mamluk illumination in 14th and 15th century Egypt and Syria” (M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam – Treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, Abu Dhabi, Part XXVIII. 2004, no. 68, p. 79). Our section with its lavish use of gold and lapis blue illustrates how these fine copies of the Qur’an would have later evolved into the celebrated manuscript production under the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria. Another rare example of a Qur’an written entirely in gold thuluth dated to the equivalent of 6th June 1203 AD and attributed to Mesopotamia sold in these Rooms, 23 October 2007, lot 20.
Two further notable Qur’ans dating to the Zangid dynasty have been identified, one which carries a waqf inscription from Damascus dated to the equivalent of 1167 AD, is in the Keir Collection. The other sold in these Rooms, 16 October 2001, lot 12. That was produced in Mosul in the year AH 647/1249-1250 AD. The illuminated frontispiece on our section with its elegant scrolling vine with large cusped foliage is clearly related to the illumination found on the copy produced in Mosul. This small body of manuscripts represents a rare glimpse into the field of Qur’an manuscripts produced prior to the destruction that came with the arrival of the Mongols only a few years later.
The illuminated frontispiece of our Qur’an states that this is ‘section four from sections…’ There was probably a facing illuminated folio which would have stated that this was from a section of thirty parts or juz’ sections. The verses contained in our section almost precisely correspond to what is traditionally included in the fourth juz’. Our Qur’an section is immediately followed by Part V which was previously in the colletion of Rt. Hon. Lady Bagot. Below is a list of the known parts of this Qur’an:
Part I, Archaeological Museum, Bursa (K19)
Part IV, Our present copy
Part V, Formerly in the Collection of Rt. Hon. Lady Bagot, Sold Sotheby’s London, 28/29 April 1981, lot 271
Part XII, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (MS.1448; David James, Qur’ans and Bindings from the Chester Beatty Library, A Facsimile Exhibition, London, 1980, cat.no.7, pp.44-49)
Part XXVI, Bibliotheque Nationale (MS.arab 5949; M-G Guesdon and A. Vernay Nouri, L’art du livre arabe du manuscrit au livre d’artiste, Paris, 2002, p.71, cat.no.42)
Part XXVIII, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London, (QUR497; acquired at Sotheby’s, 10 April 1989, lot 184, published David James, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art - The Master Scribes, volume II, London, 1992, cat.no.7)
This Qur’an section comes from a manuscript which is in many ways unique. Fortunately we are able to accurately date and place the production of the manuscript due to a colophon found on the 28th section which is now in the Khalili Collection. David James confirms that “under any circumstances the Sinjar Qur’an would have been considered one of the finest 13th-century Qur’ans known, but the precise nature of its dating and provenance increases it importance greatly. In the late 12th and early 13th centuries the Jazirah was one of the most fertile regions in the Islamic world for architecture, minor arts and secular manuscripts. Despite this, the Qur’an made for Qutb ad-Din Muhammad is the only Qur’an known to have been made for any of the Zangid rulers of the Jazirah” (Inv. QUR497, David James, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art - The Master Scribes, volume II, London, 1992, cat. no. 7).
Another rare feature of this Qur’an is the use of the decorative thuluth in which the entire text is copied. This script is usually only used in the writing of chapter headings. Michael Rogers observes “the conspicuous use of lapis blue, one of the most expensive of medieval pigments, was to become standard in the illumination of Qur’ans, and the use of a translucent red wash to enhance the gold was to become a feature of Mamluk illumination in 14th and 15th century Egypt and Syria” (M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam – Treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, Abu Dhabi, Part XXVIII. 2004, no. 68, p. 79). Our section with its lavish use of gold and lapis blue illustrates how these fine copies of the Qur’an would have later evolved into the celebrated manuscript production under the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria. Another rare example of a Qur’an written entirely in gold thuluth dated to the equivalent of 6th June 1203 AD and attributed to Mesopotamia sold in these Rooms, 23 October 2007, lot 20.
Two further notable Qur’ans dating to the Zangid dynasty have been identified, one which carries a waqf inscription from Damascus dated to the equivalent of 1167 AD, is in the Keir Collection. The other sold in these Rooms, 16 October 2001, lot 12. That was produced in Mosul in the year AH 647/1249-1250 AD. The illuminated frontispiece on our section with its elegant scrolling vine with large cusped foliage is clearly related to the illumination found on the copy produced in Mosul. This small body of manuscripts represents a rare glimpse into the field of Qur’an manuscripts produced prior to the destruction that came with the arrival of the Mongols only a few years later.
The illuminated frontispiece of our Qur’an states that this is ‘section four from sections…’ There was probably a facing illuminated folio which would have stated that this was from a section of thirty parts or juz’ sections. The verses contained in our section almost precisely correspond to what is traditionally included in the fourth juz’. Our Qur’an section is immediately followed by Part V which was previously in the colletion of Rt. Hon. Lady Bagot. Below is a list of the known parts of this Qur’an:
Part I, Archaeological Museum, Bursa (K19)
Part IV, Our present copy
Part V, Formerly in the Collection of Rt. Hon. Lady Bagot, Sold Sotheby’s London, 28/29 April 1981, lot 271
Part XII, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (MS.1448; David James, Qur’ans and Bindings from the Chester Beatty Library, A Facsimile Exhibition, London, 1980, cat.no.7, pp.44-49)
Part XXVI, Bibliotheque Nationale (MS.arab 5949; M-G Guesdon and A. Vernay Nouri, L’art du livre arabe du manuscrit au livre d’artiste, Paris, 2002, p.71, cat.no.42)
Part XXVIII, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London, (QUR497; acquired at Sotheby’s, 10 April 1989, lot 184, published David James, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art - The Master Scribes, volume II, London, 1992, cat.no.7)