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Lot Essay
Many fine Qur'ans were made in Baghdad under Ilkhanid rule (1256-1335) by artists following the footsteps of the celebrated master calligrapher Yaqut al-Musta'simi (d.1298). Although not a calligrapher, the master illuminator Muhammad ibn Aybak ibn 'Abdullah, to whom the illumination of this fine and unusual folio is attributed, was one of these artists. The leading illuminator of his day, his signed work can be dated from 1302 to 1311-15⁄16.
His known works include two monumental and now dispersed Qur'ans produced in Baghdad, the first probably commissioned for Sultan Ghazan (r.1295-1304) and the second for Sultan Uljaytu (r.1304-16) (David James, Qur'ans of the Mamluks, London, 1988, pp.96-8, cats.39-40). Such Qur'ans were regarded as the most important manuscripts at the time, the paper used being some of the finest ever produced, with enormous sheets "glazed and polished to almost glassy perfection" (Sheila Blair, 'Religious Art of the Ilkhanids', in Linda Komaroff and Stefano Carboni (eds.), The Legacy of Genghis Khans. Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353, New Haven and London, 2003, p.130).
The present folio relates closely to both Baghdad Qur'ans. Ibn Aybak most likely led and kept tight control of the production of both manuscripts within a workshop environment, making them stylistically coherent and different from the contemporaneous Mamluk imperial production (James, op.cit., p.98). The style is characterised by the vivid colours and Chinese-inspired decorative detail (David James, The Development of the Qur’anic Calligraphy and Illumination under the Mamlukes, 1300-1376 and in Iraq and Iran in the same Period, Ph.D.diss., Durham, 1984, p.230). A distinguishing feature of our folio is that the text has been outlined in not one, but two alternating colours, attesting to the multi-faceted and innovative work of Ibn Aybak's workshop, going beyond the Qur'anic decorative standards of the 13th century (James, op.cit., 1984, pp.88-90).
The calligraphy of the Sultan Ghazan Qur'an is also signed by one of Yaqut's pupils, Ahmad Ibn al-Suhrawardi, and the manuscript has been hailed by Sheila Blair as "one of the finest Koran manuscripts ever produced, and its calligraphy and illumination are in total harmony" (Sheila Blair, Islamic Calligraphy, Edinburgh, 2008, p.249; for one dispersed folio, see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 55.44). Due to Ibn Aybak's use of a rectilinear and "graceful" kufic (James, op.cit., 1988, p.90) for the sura heading, our folio may predate the 1306⁄7-13 Uljaytu Qur'an which employs a white thuluth in the unwan. There is a Qur'an in the Topkapi Palace Museum Library (E.H. 74) signed by Yaqut himself and dated 1294 with exquisite illumination very similar to that of Ibn Aybak (Nourane Ben Azzouna, 'A Luxury Market? Yaqut al-Musta'simi's Qur'ans,' Simon Rettig and Sana Mirza (eds.), The Word Illuminated: Form and Function of Qur'anic Manuscripts from the Seventh to Seventeenth Centuries, Washington, D.C., 2023, pp.93-5, see fig.14). This suggests that our illuminator might have worked with the great master before his extant dated works.
Since David James' important study, another Qur'an folio attributed to Ibn Aybak has been published, in The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar (MS.643; Julia Gonnella (ed.), Museum of Islamic Art: The Collection, London, 2022, pp. 88-9 for the recto). Matching the measurements of our folio, it features an identical unwan, albeit on a blue ground, and marginal ansa medallion, and likely forms a part of the same manuscript. Regarding the potential calligrapher of the manuscript, however, Mohamed Zakariya has argued that while the "sumptuous" illumination may be safely attributed to Ibn Aybak, the congested muhaqqaq itself doesn't follow the strict rules of muhaqqaq, suggesting that the calligrapher was an affluent member of the royal household rather than a master like Ibn al-Suhrawardi ('An Ottoman Murakkaa and the Birth of the International Style,' Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom (eds.), God Is Beautiful and Loves Beauty, New Haven, 2013, p.20).
Fragments from the same or contemporaneous Qur'ans in the same style have recently been sold at Bonhams, London, 23 May 2023, lot 2, and 28 November-6 December 2024, lot 1. A later Ilkhanid Qur'an Juz' dated 1334 was sold in these Rooms, 1 May 2025, lot 19.
His known works include two monumental and now dispersed Qur'ans produced in Baghdad, the first probably commissioned for Sultan Ghazan (r.1295-1304) and the second for Sultan Uljaytu (r.1304-16) (David James, Qur'ans of the Mamluks, London, 1988, pp.96-8, cats.39-40). Such Qur'ans were regarded as the most important manuscripts at the time, the paper used being some of the finest ever produced, with enormous sheets "glazed and polished to almost glassy perfection" (Sheila Blair, 'Religious Art of the Ilkhanids', in Linda Komaroff and Stefano Carboni (eds.), The Legacy of Genghis Khans. Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353, New Haven and London, 2003, p.130).
The present folio relates closely to both Baghdad Qur'ans. Ibn Aybak most likely led and kept tight control of the production of both manuscripts within a workshop environment, making them stylistically coherent and different from the contemporaneous Mamluk imperial production (James, op.cit., p.98). The style is characterised by the vivid colours and Chinese-inspired decorative detail (David James, The Development of the Qur’anic Calligraphy and Illumination under the Mamlukes, 1300-1376 and in Iraq and Iran in the same Period, Ph.D.diss., Durham, 1984, p.230). A distinguishing feature of our folio is that the text has been outlined in not one, but two alternating colours, attesting to the multi-faceted and innovative work of Ibn Aybak's workshop, going beyond the Qur'anic decorative standards of the 13th century (James, op.cit., 1984, pp.88-90).
The calligraphy of the Sultan Ghazan Qur'an is also signed by one of Yaqut's pupils, Ahmad Ibn al-Suhrawardi, and the manuscript has been hailed by Sheila Blair as "one of the finest Koran manuscripts ever produced, and its calligraphy and illumination are in total harmony" (Sheila Blair, Islamic Calligraphy, Edinburgh, 2008, p.249; for one dispersed folio, see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 55.44). Due to Ibn Aybak's use of a rectilinear and "graceful" kufic (James, op.cit., 1988, p.90) for the sura heading, our folio may predate the 1306⁄7-13 Uljaytu Qur'an which employs a white thuluth in the unwan. There is a Qur'an in the Topkapi Palace Museum Library (E.H. 74) signed by Yaqut himself and dated 1294 with exquisite illumination very similar to that of Ibn Aybak (Nourane Ben Azzouna, 'A Luxury Market? Yaqut al-Musta'simi's Qur'ans,' Simon Rettig and Sana Mirza (eds.), The Word Illuminated: Form and Function of Qur'anic Manuscripts from the Seventh to Seventeenth Centuries, Washington, D.C., 2023, pp.93-5, see fig.14). This suggests that our illuminator might have worked with the great master before his extant dated works.
Since David James' important study, another Qur'an folio attributed to Ibn Aybak has been published, in The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar (MS.643; Julia Gonnella (ed.), Museum of Islamic Art: The Collection, London, 2022, pp. 88-9 for the recto). Matching the measurements of our folio, it features an identical unwan, albeit on a blue ground, and marginal ansa medallion, and likely forms a part of the same manuscript. Regarding the potential calligrapher of the manuscript, however, Mohamed Zakariya has argued that while the "sumptuous" illumination may be safely attributed to Ibn Aybak, the congested muhaqqaq itself doesn't follow the strict rules of muhaqqaq, suggesting that the calligrapher was an affluent member of the royal household rather than a master like Ibn al-Suhrawardi ('An Ottoman Murakkaa and the Birth of the International Style,' Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom (eds.), God Is Beautiful and Loves Beauty, New Haven, 2013, p.20).
Fragments from the same or contemporaneous Qur'ans in the same style have recently been sold at Bonhams, London, 23 May 2023, lot 2, and 28 November-6 December 2024, lot 1. A later Ilkhanid Qur'an Juz' dated 1334 was sold in these Rooms, 1 May 2025, lot 19.