ATTRIBUTED TO AHMAD IBN 'ABDULLAH IBN AL-MANSUR HASHEMI AL-'ABBASI, MAMLUK EGYPT, 7 SHABAN AH 728 / 16 JUNE 1327 AD

Among the unusual features of this manuscript, as well as the use of dyed paper, are the kufic sura heading. Often, these are written in negative space, with the vivid pink of the paper outlined in gold and then set within an illuminated cartouche. These cartouches - rather than being rounded or scalloped - terminate at each end with a triangular point. The hand is strong and confident, and the final line of each sura is justified so that it sits in the middle of the page, rather than off to the right. The same use of negative space in sura headings can be seen in the frontispiece of a Qur'an by the illuminator Abu Bakr Sandal in the Chester Beatty Library (acc.no. CBL 1479, published David James, Qur'ans of the Mamluks, London, 1988, fig.32). Each folio also has large rosettes marking the verse divisions and extensive use of gold, both in the roundels and in the marginal medallions. One folio was published in catalogue 135 from the New York rare book dealer Philip C. Duschenes, no.24. There, the folio was published as having been written by a certain Ahmad ibn 'Abdullah ibn al-Mansur Hashemi al-Abbasi, and the manuscript dated to 7 Shaban AH 728. Such specific information suggests that the dealer knew of a colophon page to help contextualise the manuscript.

The folio which had been with Duschenes was sold Sotheby's London, 9 April 2008, lot 21. Other folios from this manuscript can be found in institutional collections. This includes one in the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm (acc.no.BekB-118, Friederike Voigt, 'Qur’an leaf', Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024), and another two folios in al-Khatt al-Jameel, the private collection of Mohamad 'Ali in Sydney. That folio was loaned to the exhibition East Meets West - the Crusades and the Age of Decolonisation, April-September 2022 at Macquarie University in Sydney. Further folios which have appeared on the art market include one offered as part of the Stuart Cary Welch Collection Part II, Sotheby's London, 6 April 2011, lot 16, 9 April 2014, lot 21 and 31 March 2021, lot 5. Of these, the last was acquired by Istanbul Municipality to be displayed at the Feshane Musuem. A further folio from the manuscript was sold in these Rooms, 25 June 2020, lot 22. All known folios have been trimmed along the outer edge, suggesting this was done before the manuscript was broken up.