A finely-illuminated large Qur'an, Persia, Safavid, circa 1550

Arabic manuscript on gold sprinkled paper, 336 leaves plus 3 flyleaves, 12 lines to the page, written in naskh script in black ink, catchwords, verses separated by gold roundels pointed in blue, remargined and ruled in red and blue, surah headings in larger white thuluth script within gold and polychrome illuminated panels, opening illuminated double shamsa followed by a further double page of illumination comprising polychrome chinoiserie cloudbands, interlacing vines and split-palmettes on blue and gold grounds,  first double page of surah al-baqarah (II) similarly illuminated with text in clouds reserved against gold floral ground, the end of the manuscript with prayers in naskh and nasta'liq scripts, brown morocco binding with applied gilt medallions and corner pieces, with flap, red doublures

In good overall condition, manuscript has been remargined and shamsas and illumination laid down, pages clean and ink strong, a few minor stains and smudges, some abrasions to binding, as viewed.
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This finely illuminated Qur'an has all the hallmarks of the most refined manuscripts of the Safavid period. The inclusion of the falnama at the end of the Qur'an is one of the features that distinguishes Persian work from contemporary Ottoman work, which is often close in style. The opening double shamsa is of particularly fine quality, displaying a bold yet elegant design that is reminiscent of the illumination of a Qur'an in the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art (see D. James, After Timur, Qur'ans of the 15^th and 16^th Centuries, Oxford, 1992, pp.172-181, particularly folios 200b-201a). 

A comparable Qur'an to the present manuscript was included in the exhibition Ink and Gold at the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin and published in the accompanying catalogue (See Fraser & Kwiatkowski 2006, pp.118-121, no.35). A further comparable Qur'an, displaying a similarly decorated opening double page, was sold in these rooms 6 October 2010, lot 15. Other related Qur'ans were sold in these rooms 5 October 2011, lot 66, 1 April 2009, lot 12 and 27 April 1994, lot 19.