An Illuminated Timurid Qur'an, Persia, 14th/15th century, with an ascription to Yaq'ut al-Mustasimi, with Ottoman Illumination, Turkey, circa 1600

Arabic manuscript on paper, 224 leaves plus 2 flyleaves, 19 lines to the page, written in neat Naskh script in black ink, verses separated by small gold florets, original plain gold surah headings re-illuminated with gold panels with white Thuluth script, margins ruled in colours and gold, remargined throughout, opening double-page double shamsa with Ottoman floral illumination in colours and gold, further illuminated double page finely illuminated with interlacing vines and polychrome flowers, text within cloud bands, gold ground punched with cintamani motifs, illuminated marginal devices throughout, f.1a with a dedication to the Yemeni ruler al-Abbas Ibn al-Husayn within a roundel, f.223b with a colophon ascribing the work to Yaq'ut al-Mustasimi, morocco binding with gilt-stamped with medallions, cornerpieces and borders filled with rigorous interlacing scrolls and chinoiserie cloud bands, with flap

In generally good overall condition, some losses to binding, spine repaired, pages thumbed, illumination bright, as viewed.
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inscriptions

An inscription on folio 1a dated jumadi al-akhir 1187 AH/August-September 1773 AD informs us that the Qur'an was dedicated to the Zaydi ruler of the Yemen al-Mahdi Abi 'Abdallah al-'Abbas, son of al-Mansur al-Husayn and prayers are included for his victory and authority and salutations to the prophet and his family. Al-Mahdi  Abi 'Abdallah al-'Abbas ruled Yemen between 1160 AH/1747 AD and 1189 AH/1775 AD.

The present manuscript bears a good deal of historical interest, in that it is most likely to be a copy of a Qur'an by the hand of Yaq'ut al-Mustasimi (d. circa 1298 AD), produced in the fourteenth or fifteenth century, with later Ottoman illumination of circa 1600. The quality of the illumination and binding, as well as an eighteenth-century dedication to the ruler of Yemen indicate that it was a prized object, probably having been considered the work of the master Yaq'ut throughout its ownership.

Since as early as the years following Yaqut's death, manuscripts executed by him (and especially his Qur'ans) were hugely sought after, and have practically become, in modern times, the Holy Grail of Islamic arts of the book. In fact, because the quantity of manuscripts produced by Yaqut was relatively few, facsimiles began to be produced (sometimes with the acknowledgment of the copyist, othertimes without). Indeed, so scarce were the manuscripts, even a few years after Yaqut's death, the Ilkhanid Vizier and collector of Qur'ans Rashid al-Din was only able to find ten by Yaqut to add to his library (see James 1992, p.58).

One fairly common feature of Yaqut Qur'ans is that they have often been remargined and re-illuminated, as is the case with the present Qur'an, so some artistic evidence of the original manuscript is lost. In this copy of the Qur'an, each page has been lavishly illuminated with large leafy flowers in the margin, and the manuscript opens with four pages of high quality illumination. In many of the surah headings can be seen the original more subtle treatment obscured beneath, consisting of a heading in gold thuluth, without any rules and in keeping with the style of the fourteenth/fifteenth century. Clearly the present manuscript has been highly valued, having found its way to Turkey where this illumination and rebinding took place circa 1600. The inscription to the Yemeni ruler Al-Mahdi  Abi 'Abdallah al-'Abbas in 1773 suggests that it may have been a diplomatic gift from the Ottoman court.