TWO FOLIOS IN MUHAQQAQ SCRIPT ON PAPER, ANATOLIA OR CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 1300-1350

text: surat al-Nisa' (iv), vv.176-7; surat al-ma'idah (v) , vv.20-21
Arabic manuscript leaves on paper, 3 lines per page written in muhaqqaq script in black ink, interlinear Persian translation written diagonally in small black naskhi script, gold florets between verses, margins with extracts from the Hadith in red and blue Kufic decorated with  scrolling floral tendrils and geometric cornerpieces

Good condition, nibbles to edges, some stains and fading from age, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Leaves from this well-known Qur'an section have been convincingly linked to a thirty-volume manuscript of circa 1335 A.D. of Anatolian or Central Asian origin (James, 1988, pp.173-7, cats.58-60) which, although mostly devoid of the decorative border and surrounding kufic script, has an interlinear Persian translation arranged in the same manner and in the same hand. Previous to that attribution these leaves had often been attributed to Sultanate India. The Kufic script and decorative schemes around the edge are not contemporary with the muhaqqaq script of the Qur'anic  text.

Other leaves have been sold in these rooms 15^th October 1997, lot 14, and 12 October 2000, lot 14, while a twelve-leaf section without the marginal decoration was sold in these rooms 22^nd April 1999, lot 11. Other leaves from the same Qur'an are now in museums and private collections including the British Library, the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Rietberg Museum, Zurich, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait and the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London. For further discussion see Arberry 1967, pl.48; Losty 1986, no.5; James 1988, pp.173-7, 1992, no.51.