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Lot Essay
During the 16th century the art of bookbinding in Iran underwent many changes corresponding to the technological advancements in the arts of painting and other crafts of the time. This development involved a change in the techniques and styles used to cover the luxurious court manuscripts produced at the different centres of the Safavid court.
The biggest transformation in practise was the introduction of a widespread use of stamping. Naturalistic designs were engraved on one large stamp while symmetrical designs, usually of floral nature were engraved on a half-plate which was used twice to complete the design. This method is also seen in our example. In most cases the join is visible along the middle, however, this is not noticeable on our binding due to the skilful hands of the maker and gilder.
The doublures are decorated in the leather filigree or découpé technique on painted lapis lazuli ground, which was a continued tradition from the Timurid period. Due to the fragile and delicate nature of this technique it was always used as a method of decoration for the doublures. Although much of the découpe on our binding is lost, the overall combination of the decorative elements used on the boards, along with the size and quality of the fine gilded, pressure-moulded finish suggest that our binding could have once covered a manuscript of a royal commission.
The repeated arabesque quatrefoils on the outer binding resemble the binding of a royal Aq Quyunlu Qur’an housed in the Khalili collection (David James, After Timur. Qur'ans of the 15th and 16th Centuries, London, 1992, pp.38-39). For another similar example which closely resembles the combination used on our binding, particularly the filigree doublures see James, 1992, pp.172-185.
The biggest transformation in practise was the introduction of a widespread use of stamping. Naturalistic designs were engraved on one large stamp while symmetrical designs, usually of floral nature were engraved on a half-plate which was used twice to complete the design. This method is also seen in our example. In most cases the join is visible along the middle, however, this is not noticeable on our binding due to the skilful hands of the maker and gilder.
The doublures are decorated in the leather filigree or découpé technique on painted lapis lazuli ground, which was a continued tradition from the Timurid period. Due to the fragile and delicate nature of this technique it was always used as a method of decoration for the doublures. Although much of the découpe on our binding is lost, the overall combination of the decorative elements used on the boards, along with the size and quality of the fine gilded, pressure-moulded finish suggest that our binding could have once covered a manuscript of a royal commission.
The repeated arabesque quatrefoils on the outer binding resemble the binding of a royal Aq Quyunlu Qur’an housed in the Khalili collection (David James, After Timur. Qur'ans of the 15th and 16th Centuries, London, 1992, pp.38-39). For another similar example which closely resembles the combination used on our binding, particularly the filigree doublures see James, 1992, pp.172-185.