A Qur'an leaf in Kufic script on vellum, North Africa...
text: Qur'an, surah al-Haqqah (LIX), middle of verse 17 to beginning of verse 22
Arabic manuscript on vellum, 7 lines to the page written in Kufic in dark brown ink, diacritics in red, verses separated by triangular clusters of 6 gold dots, 'ashr marked by an illuminated roundel
23.4 by 32.5cm.
Condition Report:
In good condition overall. Minor scuffs to the edges of the leaf and overall light buckling. Very faint discolouration, mainly within the margins. The text to the verso faded, typical of Kufic Qur'ans due to the hair side of the vellum. As viewed.
Catalogue Note:
This Qur'an folio is an extremely fine example of early Qur'an production, with an elegant and graphically precise Kufic script. Related leaves and manuscripts are in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (James 1980, p.16, no.3), and the Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran, Ms.4289 (Lings 1976, no.5) and the Khalili collection (James 1992, no.21). Further leaves from the same Qur’an were sold in these rooms, 20 April 2016, lot 2, 5 October 2011, lot 54; 14 April 2010, lots 1 & 5; 1 April 2009, lot 2; 9 April 2008, lot 13; 24 October 2007, lot 4; and Sotheby's Doha, 19 March 2009, lot 303. A further leaf was sold at Christie’s, London, 28 October 2023, lot 1.
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text: Qur'an, surah al-Haqqah (LIX), middle of verse 17 to beginning of verse 22
Arabic manuscript on vellum, 7 lines to the page written in Kufic in dark brown ink, diacritics in red, verses separated by triangular clusters of 6 gold dots, 'ashr marked by an illuminated roundel
23.4 by 32.5cm.
Condition Report:
In good condition overall. Minor scuffs to the edges of the leaf and overall light buckling. Very faint discolouration, mainly within the margins. The text to the verso faded, typical of Kufic Qur'ans due to the hair side of the vellum. As viewed.
Catalogue Note:
This Qur'an folio is an extremely fine example of early Qur'an production, with an elegant and graphically precise Kufic script. Related leaves and manuscripts are in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (James 1980, p.16, no.3), and the Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran, Ms.4289 (Lings 1976, no.5) and the Khalili collection (James 1992, no.21). Further leaves from the same Qur’an were sold in these rooms, 20 April 2016, lot 2, 5 October 2011, lot 54; 14 April 2010, lots 1 & 5; 1 April 2009, lot 2; 9 April 2008, lot 13; 24 October 2007, lot 4; and Sotheby's Doha, 19 March 2009, lot 303. A further leaf was sold at Christie’s, London, 28 October 2023, lot 1.
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