PROBABLY YEMEN, 1ST HALF OF 14TH CENTURY

Although a Mamluk Egyptian origin cannot be completely discounted, David James suggests that the distinctive layout, as well as the use of a variety of scripts which include muhaqqaq, thuluth and naskh, indicate that this Qur’an was produced outside the area under direct control of the Mamluk Sultans. He suggests that it might have been copied under Rasulid patronage in Yemen (1229-1454). Other folios from the manuscript are in the Khalili Collection (inv. QUR 850, J. M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam: Treasures from the Nasser D Khalili Collection, Abu Dhabi, 2007, no.165, p.143), the Lygo Collection (Will Kwiatowski, Pages of the Qur’an, the Lygo Collection, London, n.d., pp.100-101, no.58) and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (https://islamic-arts.org/2012/the-qur%E2%80%99an/). A bifolio from the same Qur’an sold in these Rooms, 9 October 2014, lot 2.