PROBABLY YEMEN, FIRST HALF 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, Rogers, 2007, no.165, p.143), the Lygo Collection (Kwiatowski, 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. Another four folios sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2017, 11.