AN ILLUMINATED COLLECTION OF PRAYERS, INCLUDING DALA’IL AL-KHAYRAT, COPIED BY MUSTAFA AL-GUZELHISARI, TURKEY, OTTOMAN, DATED 1169 AH/1755-56
Auction Closed
October 23, 11:03 AM GMT
Estimate
7,000 - 10,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
AN ILLUMINATED COLLECTION OF PRAYERS, INCLUDING DALA’IL AL-KHAYRAT, COPIED BY MUSTAFA AL-GUZELHISARI, TURKEY, OTTOMAN, DATED 1169 AH/1755-56
Arabic manuscript on watermarked paper, 90 leaves plus 4 fly-leaves, 11 lines to the page, written in naskh in black ink, ruled in gold and black, the margins with dense annotations, verses separated by gold and polychrome rosettes, gold and polychrome cartouche to mark chapter divisions, f.1b and f.15b with illuminated headings (‘unwan), illustrations of Mecca (f.13b) and Medina (f.14a), in leather gilt-stamped binding, with flap
text panel: 10.3 by 6cm.
leaf: 16.6 by 11cm.
N. Safwat, A Collector’s Eye. Islamic calligraphy in Qur’ans and other manuscripts, London 2010, no.68, pp.258-9.
The margins of the text have been densely annotated with commentaries by different hands, with references and explanations. The representations of Mecca and Medina are interesting as they show an attention to perspective as well as the use of the chiaroscuro technique in rendering the sky.