An illuminated Qur'an juz' (IV), Turkey, Ottoman, early 15th century

Arabic manuscript on polished cream paper, 35 leaves plus a flyleaf, 5 lines to the page, written in muhaqqaq script in blue and gold ink, sometimes alternating, on other pages with just the middle line in blue, verses separated by gold florets pointed in red, diacritics in gold, tenth verses marked with gold marginal roundels, f.30a with a surah heading in gold thuluth script within a gold and red-outlined panel filled with a ground of faux 'marble' design, margins ruled with a single blue line, double page illuminated frontispiece with heading panels in white ornamental Eastern Kufic script in white against blue ground cartouches filled with scrolling gold split-palmettes, gold strapwork borders, 3 lines of text within cloud bands against a hatched ground, lacquered morocco binding with large tooled central medallions and scroll-work borders, pressure-moulded calligraphic doublures, with flap

In reasonably good overall condition, binding worn and lacquered, spine repaired, various paper repairs to leaf edges, illumination bright and text bold, various minor stains, thumbed, some leaves coming loose within the manuscript, as viewed.
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inscriptions

The doublure bears the repeat of:

al-‘zz al-da’im wa al-iqbal/ bi’l-‘ajal wa al-kamal

‘Perpetual glory and prosperity in haste and perfection’

This double page frontispiece from juz five of the Qur'an comes from a grand Qur'an written in thirty sections in the first half of the fifteenth century. It is an important example of early Ottoman manuscript production, relating stylistically to late Mamluk Qur'ans, especially in the basic layout and the fine muhaqqaq script. The strong, flowing rhythm is enhanced by the use of alternate lines of blue and gold ink. An interesting Ottoman feature of the decoration is the surah heading on f.30a, which, unlike the hatching of the frontispiece text area, displays a kind of 'marbled' decoration, reminiscent of a distinct design found in Iznik-ware (see, for example, a tile sold in these rooms, 14 April 2010, lot 312, and a rare matara, sold 24 April 2013, lot 241).

Other leaves and sections from this Qur'an were sold in these rooms, 20 April 2016, lot 6; 29 October 1998, lot 28; 15 October 1997, lot 13 and 30 April 1992, lot 434.