An illuminated Qur'an leaf in Maghribi script on vellum, Spain or North Africa, 1250-1350

Auction Closed

April 30, 03:48 PM GMT

Estimate

6,000 - 8,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

text: Qur'an, surah al-'anbiya (XXI), part of verse 112 to surah al-hajj (XXII), part of verse 4

Arabic manuscript on vellum, 7 lines of brown Maghribi script per page, vocalisation in cherry red, hamza in green and brown, shadda in dark green-blue, individual verses marked with gold medallions with word aya at centre in gold ornamental Kufic on a red ground, surah heading consisting of surah title and verse count in gold ornamental Kufic script with an illuminated medallion projecting into the margin

26.1 by 23cm.

Multi-volume Qur’ans in large Maghribi script were popular in Spain and North Africa in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It is thought that these Qur’ans, as opposed to the single-volume copies in a smaller hand that were also popular in the period, were associated with members of the Almohad and Marinid courts (Blair 2006, pp.227-8. As with this leaf, they were typically on vellum in square format and richly illuminated. Qur’ans in seven lines were particularly popular and were typically arranged in four volumes (see James 1992, nos.55 & 58).