A QUR'AN LEAF IN GOLD KUFIC SCRIPT ON VELLUM, NEAR EAST, 10TH CENTURY

text: surat al-saba' (xxxiv), vv.48-52
Arabic manuscript leaf on vellum, 5 lines per page written in fine gold kufic script on vellum, letter-pointing (i'jam) of thin brown dashes, vocalization of red, green and blue dots, single verse divisions marked with illuminated gold rosettes, tenth verse divisions marked within the text with a gold roundel containing an abjad letter (nun) and adjacent in the margin with a larger illuminated roundel containing the exact verse count (khamsun/fifty in this case)

In good overall condition, some creases and repairs accordingly, some small marks and stains, colours bright, 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."

This folio and that in the following lot originate from one of only a handful of surviving Qur'ans in which the main body of text has been executed entirely in gold Kufic script. This was a very rare, luxury aspect of manuscript production, indicating a commission at the highest level of patronage. The technique of writing in gold (chrysography) differed from the normal process of writing in brown ink. Kufic script in brown ink was applied with a wide stylus dipped in ink and drawn smothly across the page from right to left. For gold Kufic, the outline of the letters was drawn in brown ink with a very thin nib (visible here to the naked eye) and the interiors of the letters were then infilled with gold ink, the scribe having to keep as accurately as possible to the pre-determined brown outline of the letters so as to keep the whole calligraphic display as neat as possible. The process was a lengthy and expensive one, hence the rarity of these luxury gold-script manuscripts. 

The Qur'an from which this folio originates, now widely dispersed in various institutional and private collections, had been attributed for some time to Qairwawan (Lings and Safadi 1976, nos.16-17, Geneva 1985, no.1). However, Stanley has pointed out that the abjad system used in the verse count of this Qur'an is the so-called Eastern abjad system (Quaritch 1213, p.18), which was used predominantly in the Central and Eastern Islamic lands rather than North Africa.

Other leaves and sections from the same Qur'an are in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Tunis, the National Institute of Archaeology, Tunis, Beit al-Qur'an, Bahrain, the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London; and several have been sold in these rooms, most recently 12 October 2000, lot 4, where further references are given.