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Large Qur'an Leaf in Kufic Script on Vellum, North Africa or Near East, Circa 900 AD
Description
7 lines per page written in bold and considered kufic script in brown ink on vellum, vocalisation in red, green and orange dots, single verses marked with pyramidal compositions of 6 gold dots
Catalogue Note
This impressive kufic leaf is an excellent example of the mature stage of Qur'anic manuscript production during the ninth and early tenth centuries A.D. The vellum is of high quality and the script attains fully the 'sober beauty' expressed by Déroche in the catalogue of the Nasser D. Khalili Collection (Déroche 1992, no.21) when describing the high script of the period. The letter spacing is well considered, the hand is confident and the overall effect is solemn and dignified.
A leaf from a similar Qur'an is in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London (Déroche 1992, no.20. Other related leaves and manuscripts are as follows: Qairawan, Musée des arts Islamiques (Carthage, no.328); Nasser D. Khalili collection, London (Déroche 1992, no.21); Sotheby's, London 28 April 1993, lot 67; 15 October 1997, lots 2 and 7; 29 April 1998, lots 5 and 6; Christie's London 28 April 1992, lot 34; Bernard Quaritch, catalogue 121, no.4.