SAFAVID SHIRAZ, IRAN, MID 16TH CENTURY

Details

QUR'AN
SAFAVID SHIRAZ, IRAN, MID 16TH CENTURY
Arabic manuscript on paper, 314ff. plus five fly-leaves, each folio with 12ll. of black naskh with red nasta'liq Persian interlinear translation, within gold and polychrome rules, gold and blue rosette verse markers, the margins with occasional commentary, gold and polychrome marginal medallions, catchwords, sura headings in white thuluth reserved against a gold cartouche with floral arabesques on gold and polychrome panels, the opening bifolio with al-fatiha written in thuluth reserved against gold and polychrome illumination, preceded by shamsas and similar illumination, the following bifolio with the text reserved against gold cloudbands and an illuminated headpiece, similar illumination on two final bifolios, with an illuminated du'a and falnama, in contemporaneous lacquer binding, the doublures red leather
Text panel 9 ½ x 5 7⁄8in. (24 x 15cm.); 13 3⁄8 x 9 3⁄8in. (34 x 23.7cm.)

Provenance

Private Collection, US, since at least 1959

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

This magnificent Safavid Qur’an, probably copied between the 1550s and 1580s, demonstrates sixteenth century Shirazi illumination at its best. It is extremely heavily illuminated with densely decorated bifolios at the beginning and the end, including a richly illuminated falnama. The illumination of the present manuscript is closely related to a Shirazi Safavid Qur'an of similar date, sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2018, lot 109. Two related Shirazi Safavid Qur'ans of similar quality recently sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2023, lots 26 and 27.

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