Charles Louis Müller

Sale: Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 22 April 1997, lot 12
Purchased at the above sale by the previous owner

The present work depicts a Sultana reading the holy Qur’an. Müller has painted her wearing a pearl necklace, earrings and gold hair clip complete with a furred kaftan and silk scarf. There is a richly embroidered velvet wall hanging behind her and she is seated on a carved armchair with a large red velvet cushion, probably in the imperial Harem. The furred kaftan, which had a special place and meaning in court ceremony, indicates her imperial status.

The illuminated Qur’an in her lap also indicates her wealth since only members of the ruling elite could own such precious manuscripts. Müller has painted the illumination and textual organisation of the frontispiece of the Qur’an manuscript with great accuracy. The lines of the Arabic text are depicted in the lower half of the page, surrounded by illumination in gold and blue. The crown illumination and border decoration has also been captured.

A remarkably close page design, illuminated in gold and blue, can be seen in the Qur’an manuscript in the Khalili Collection, London (inv. no. QUR 258). Please see, Manijeh Bayani, Anna Contadini, Tim Stanley, The Decorated Word: Qur’an of the 17th to 19th Centuries, The Nour Foundation, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 169.