A large double-handed wooden Qur'an board, Sub-Saharan Africa, probably Somalia, circa 1900

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Qur’an boards such as the present lot were used as teaching tools for students to learn to read and write the Arabic language and, subsequently, read and memorise the Qur’anic text. The long, slender shape of this example is typical of Qur’an boards produced in Somalia although the double handle at the top of the board is an unusual feature. Further Qur’an boards from Somalia are in museum collections including one in the Minneapolis Institute of Art (acc.no.2017.92).