An illuminated Qur’an juz’ (XXIX), Turkey, Ottoman, late 14th/early 15th century

text: surah al-mulk (LXVII) to surah al-mursalat (LXXVII), end of verse 45
Arabic manuscript on polished paper, 51 leaves, 5 lines to the page, written in large gold muhaqqaq script outlined in black, 8 surah headings in large thuluth script in blue ink, double page frontispiece with upper and lower text in large white ornamental Kufic script against a plain ground filled with gold scrolling split-palmettes, later red morocco binding with central gilt-stamped cartouches

In reasonably good overall condition, occasional marginal paper repairs, minor water stains, crude repairs to first 2 leaves, thumbed, some pages loose in binding, binding worn, occasional smudges, pages otherwise clean and text bold, as viewed.
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This Qur'an section is closely related to lot 122 in the present collection, in that whilst both manuscripts don't appear to belong to the same thirty-part set, they are likely to have been produced at around the same time in the same place. The calligraphy of the present manuscript, whilst executed entirely in gold, is slightly larger and a little less refined than that of lot 122. The illuminated frontispiece is also of slightly simpler construction, although the rigorous interlace of vines found in the present opening double page is of fine quality, despite the loss of gold to the side elements.

An interesting point is that the present section's opening illumination is extremely close to another juz' sold in these rooms, 16 April 1985, lot 192, despite the fact that that section belongs to the abovementioned group (which demonstrates both blue and gold alternating muhaqqaq script). This suggests perhaps the same scriptorium or workshop of illuminators who may have worked on a number of similar though slightly different Qur'an commissions at roughly the same time.