GOLCONDA OR POSSIBLY BIJAPUR, DECCAN, INDIA, 16TH CENTURY

The Persianate style found in illuminated manuscripts from Golconda during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries serves as a clear indicator of the close cultural connection between Golconda and Safavid Shiraz. Historical records give evidence of a seamless exchange of artists between these two centers, including several Persian calligraphers who were actively employed in Golconda's Qutb Shahi court, creating their works in the Safavid style. A Qur’an manuscript, thought to have been produced in Golconda, with a more recent Indian provenance, and dated to circa 1560-1600 is in the Al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait (LNS 277 MS). That is by the hand of ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Husaini al-Shirazi. There are thirteen known manuscripts associated with ‘Abd al-Qadir, including Qur’ans, some of them bearing Qutb Shahi seals which indicate that he had might have moved from his native city of Shiraz to Golconda (Keelan Overton (ed.), Iran and the Deccan. Persianate Art, Culture, and Talent in Circulation, 1400–1700, Indiana, 2020, p.32).

The sultans of the Shia Qutb Shahi dynasty were devoted to Imam Riza and presented vast endowments to his shrine at Mashhad (Astan-e Quds), including a Qur’an manuscript, also copied by 'Abd al-Qadir, which bears extremely close resemblance to our bifolio (Maryam Habibi, “Qur’an Manuscript No. 106 Copied by 'Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni al-Shirazi and Endowed to the Shrine of Imam Riza by Ibrahim Qutb Shah”, in Overton (ed.), op.cit., pp. 203-221. That Qur’an, known as manuscript no. 106, is the most exquisite example of the calligrapher's work, and is equally exceptional for its illumination. That manuscript was produced in the Deccan and evidence of this attribution can be seen throughout its pages, including elements of design and the use of Indian pigments. Nevertheless, the Shiraz school of calligraphy and illumination is also clear throughout the book. Our folio is of an identical monumental size to Qur’an no. 106. The calligraphy is in the most elegant rayhani script in gold and lapis and the text layout and marginal medallions are also near identical suggesting that they were created in the same royal workshop. It is important to note the tahrir technique, where black outlines were added to the gold calligraphy, which would have doubled the time required to complete the text. This meticulous and time-consuming approach, not commonly observed in gold Qur’ans from the Safavid or Deccani courts, along with the incorporation of luxurious lapis lazuli, provides clear evidence of the exceptionally costly production of the Qur’an from which these folios come and suggests a prestigious patron. The paper of our Qur’an is of Indian manufacture and typical of that of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which shared similar texture, colour and construction. Another noteworthy feature of our Qur’an which indicates an attribution to Golconda is the use of bright orange in the text panel division, ruling and marginal medallions.

Similar to the Astan-e Quds Qur’an, our bifolio was part of a Qur’an which further demonstrates the close Golconda-Shiraz scriptoria links. For another large format, single volume Qur’an in the Khalili Collection, attributed to seventeenth century Golconda, see Manijeh Bayani, Anna Contadini and Tim Stanley, The Decorated Word, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, vol. IV, 1999, no.63, pp.196-199. For other Qur’ans attributed to the Golconda Sultanate or the Deccan, sold at auction recently, see Sotheby’s London, 5 October 2010, lot 41; Christie’s South Kensington, 24 April 2015, lot 297 and Christie’s London, 12 October 2004, lot 35.