SIGNED MUHAMMAD BIN 'ABDULLAH NISHAPURI AL-ANSARI, OTTOMAN TURKEY, DATED SHAWWAL AH 948/JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1542 AD

Details

QUR'AN
SIGNED MUHAMMAD BIN 'ABDULLAH NISHAPURI AL-ANSARI, OTTOMAN TURKEY, DATED SHAWWAL AH 948/JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1542 AD
Arabic manuscript on paper, 395ff. plus two flyleaves, each folio with 11ll. of neat black naskh on gold sprinkled ground, within black, blue and gold rules, gold and polychrome roundel verse markers, foliate illuminated marginal medallions, hizb, rab'a hisb, juz' and nisf juz' in red thuluth, sura headings in white thuluth on gold ground within an illuminated cartouche, opening bifolio with gold and polychrome illumination framing 5ll. of text, colophon signed and dated, with later owner's notes and seal impression, some marginal staining and repair, in dark green morocco with flap, decorated with central stamped medallion and spandrels all with elegant scrolling, flowering vine on gold ground, the brown morocco doublures with central cusped découpé gold medallion

Text panel 5 ¾ x 3 ½in. (14.7 x 8.7cm.); folio 9 ½ x 6in. (24 x 15cm.)

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Phoebe Jowett Smith Department Coordinator

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

pjowettsmith@christies.com +44 20 7752 3221

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The illumination of our Qur'an resembles those of the Ottoman manuscripts dating from 1470s and onwards which developed as a more homogenous style incorporating both Timurid and Turkoman influences and continued until the late 16th century. For an Ottoman Qur'an of an earlier date but with similar illumination in the Khalili collection see David James, After Timur, Oxford, 1992, pl. 22, pp.94-95. Although our Qur’an is Ottoman, the name of its calligrapher is of Iranian origin. It is possible that he was one of the many captives at the battle of Chaldiran who moved to the Ottoman Empire.

More from Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Rugs and Carpets

View All