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Lot Essay
The present copy is remarkable in that it is copied on quires combining prepared vellum and pink-coloured paper. Each quire appears to be formed of four vellum bifolios for one pink paper bifolio.
A famous group of Qur'an folios on pink paper is attributed to 13th century Andalusia. A number of folios from that manuscript are in public collections, while others have appeared at auction. A large group of them, 215 folios, formerly in the collection of Maréchal Lyautey were sold at the Hotel Georges V, Paris, 30 October 1975, lot 488. The attribution of these striking pink folios to Spain is based primarily on the use of paper. In the Maghreb, parchment remained in frequent use for the writing of Qur'ans into the 19th century. Spain, however, had been manufacturing and using high quality paper for manuscripts of all kinds for some time. Manuscripts like that Qur'an, on pink dyed paper are believed to have been produced in Jativa, near Valencia, the site of the earliest documented paper mill in Spain (Marcus Fraser and William Kwiatkowski, Ink and Gold: Islamic Calligraphy, Berlin and London, 2006, p.64).
Another Andalusian manuscript copied on vellum and pink paper was sold at Christie's South Kensington, 18 April 2016, lot 141.
A famous group of Qur'an folios on pink paper is attributed to 13th century Andalusia. A number of folios from that manuscript are in public collections, while others have appeared at auction. A large group of them, 215 folios, formerly in the collection of Maréchal Lyautey were sold at the Hotel Georges V, Paris, 30 October 1975, lot 488. The attribution of these striking pink folios to Spain is based primarily on the use of paper. In the Maghreb, parchment remained in frequent use for the writing of Qur'ans into the 19th century. Spain, however, had been manufacturing and using high quality paper for manuscripts of all kinds for some time. Manuscripts like that Qur'an, on pink dyed paper are believed to have been produced in Jativa, near Valencia, the site of the earliest documented paper mill in Spain (Marcus Fraser and William Kwiatkowski, Ink and Gold: Islamic Calligraphy, Berlin and London, 2006, p.64).
Another Andalusian manuscript copied on vellum and pink paper was sold at Christie's South Kensington, 18 April 2016, lot 141.