Arts of the Islamic World & India
Arts of the Islamic World & India
An illuminated miniature Qur'an, Iraq, 14th century
Auction Closed
October 25, 04:59 PM GMT
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
An illuminated miniature Qur'an, Iraq, 14th century
Arabic manuscript on paper, 174 leaves, plus 1 fly-leaf, 17 lines to the page written in ghubar in black ink, ruled in gold and black, verses separated by gold roundels, surah headings in gold outlined in black, further text divisions annotated in gold in the margins, f.1a with illuminated frontispiece, f.1b and f.2a illuminated in gold and polychrome framing text in a cloud reserved against a pink hatched ground, in gilt-stamped brown leather binding
0
text panel: 5.5 by 3.9cm.
leaf: 8.1 by 5.7cm.
Early miniature Qur’ans include a dated twelfth century example recently sold in these rooms 26 October 2022, lot 13; a thirteenth century dated example sold at Christie’s, London, 16 October 2001, lot 12, both of which were produced in Iraq, and an early fourteenth century dated example attributed to Western Persia or Anatolia sold in these rooms, 23 April 1997, lot 53.
The present manuscript falls within the tradition of Iraq manuscript production and clearly follows the tradition of the two above mentioned examples. The illumination in the opening frontispiece comprises a palette of cobalt-blue, gold, burnt-orange and turquoise with a geometric design of interlaced roundels forming a rosette and enclosing flowers. A comparable palette is used in the frontispiece of a Qur’an of a much larger scale produced in Mosul in 1300-01 AD in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection (inv. no.QUR671, James 1992, pp.102-3, no.21). The form of the frontispiece with interlaced circles is reminiscent of the twelfth century miniature mentioned above, however, the palette is more varied and the floral drawing more closely related to the Khalili manuscript.
The frontispiece is followed by an illuminated double page which frames the small but neat naskh hand. The composition of this illumination with Kufic in elongated cartouches above and below the text recalls the arrangement of a Mamluk Syrian manuscript in the Khalili collection (inv. no.QUR187, James 1992, pp.180-4, no.44). Both share similar drawing of the letter forms with the 'ayn and fa drawn at nearly the same height as the alif-lam. These similarities between the contemporaneous manuscripts produced in different centres indicate the relationship between Ilkhanid and Mamluk manuscript production as a result of the migration of Iraq-trained artists to Cairo (James 1888, pp.138-149).
The neat naskh throughout the manuscript is of particularly high quality despite the small scale the calligrapher was working in. The illumination throughout the text is more restricted than its opening with focus placed of the skill of the scribe. The surah headings, nonetheless, are written throughout in a bold, gold cursive script, close in style to twelfth and thirteenth century manuscripts.
This manuscript is accompanied by a radiocarbon dating report that supports the proposed date of manufacture.
