NEAR EAST OR NORTHERN AFRICA, 2ND HALF 9TH/EARLY 10TH CENTURY

Details

A LARGE KUFIC QUR'AN BIFOLIO
NEAR EAST OR NORTHERN AFRICA, 2ND HALF 9TH/EARLY 10TH CENTURY
Qur'an XXXIII, sura al-ahzab, vv. 25-49 (part), Arabic manuscript on vellum, each folio with 15ll. of black kufic, with red, green and yellow vocalisation, later black dot and line diacritics, with polychrome rosette markers, minor staining and rubbing, two corners lacking, otherwise in very good condition
Each folio 11 x 15½in. (28 x 39.3cm.)

Provenance

Christie's, London, 5 October 2010, Lot 52

Special notice

From time to time, Christie's may offer a lot which it owns in whole or in part. This is such a lot.

Sale room notice

Please note that this lot was offered as property from a private European collector on 5 October 2010, and not from the collection of Dr. Mohammed Said Farsi as stated in the printed catalogue.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Louise Broadhurst

lbroadhurst@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2603

Lot Essay

A bifolio from this Qur'an is in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection containing Qur'an XXXIII, sura al-ahzab, vv.4-14 and 54-70. Although not directly consecutive, the present bifolio containing Qur'an XXXIII, sura al-ahzab vv. 25-49 was originally part of the same quire and inserted within the bifolio in the Khalili Collection. According to Déroche's classification, this Qur'an is written in style C.III. It is characterized by the independent alif which has a flattened tail, the crescent-shaped final nun and the almost triangular final mim (Déroche, 1992, p.64, cat.16). The writing of the name of God is idiosyncratic with its elegant and condensed upstrokes contained within a triangular space.

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