SIGNED 'ABDULLAH AL-SAMADI, TIMURID IRAN, DATED 18 DHU'L-QA'DA AH 901⁄6 AUGUST 1496 AD

Given the exquisite quality of the opening illumination of this manuscript, it is unsurprising that the illumination of Timurid and Safavid Persia would serve as inspiration for other centres, particularly the Ottomans. The illuminator has masterfully chosen a particularly rich layer of lapus lazuli creating a dazzling ultramarine shade, heightened by its contrast with the cartouches of block gold.
Under Mehmet the Conqueror, artistic commissions looked to Turkic, Perso-Islamic, and Byzantine inspiration, and after the Ottoman conquest of the Safavids, there was an increased presence of Iranian artists in the Ottoman court. Both in its rich blue tone and layout, the illumination of this manuscript is comparable to an Ottoman Qur'an from the first half of the sixteenth century sold in these Rooms, 5 October 2010, lot 306, and another in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul (inv.no.TIEM 224). This characteristic bright lapis lazuli would go on to become a mainstay of Ottoman illumination. Although the illumination in the opening bifolio relates to Ottoman production, the illumination within the manuscript, such as the gold floral cartouches framing the text, is typical of Persian illumination.