A large illuminated volume from a four-volume Qur'an, Persia, Ilkhanid, early 14th century

This impressive volume is the final section of a four-part Ilkhanid Qur’an, notable for its inclusion of a narrative commentary with each surah. Early Qur’an manuscripts including a commentary within the text are rare. Although labelled tarjama (translation), the texts differ from the interlinear translations and in some cases are followed by headings that relate historical stories, hadith, and specific subjects, including astronomical and astrological topics (see, for example, surah Ya-Sin which is followed by manazil al-qamar (orbits of the moon), and asma’ al-buruj (names of the Zodiac). The contents of these commentaries and how they relate to earlier examples merits further examination, but this unusual format indicates it was a specific commission used for teaching or study. Its production at the turn of the fourteenth century would correspond with an artistic impetus particularly in the arts of the book, both religious and secular, given the conversion of Ilkhan Mahmud Ghazan (r.1295-1304) to Islam. The impressive large size of the manuscript with a clear muhaqqaq typical of Ilkhanid Qur’an production would further suggest a high-ranking patron. For an earlier Qur’an section comprising surah al-Imran in eastern Kufic with a narrative commentary, see Sotheby’s, London, 24 April 2024, lot 9.