An illuminated Qur'an, Qajar Persia, first half of the 19th Century

Arabic manuscript on paper, 272 leaves, 18 lines to the page written in clear and neat naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in red and black, illuminated markers between verses, inner margins ruled in blue, red and gold, catchwords, sura headings written in thuluth script in gold within illuminated rectangular panels, occasional illuminated devices and commentaries written in shikasteh script in wide outer margins, one double-page illuminated frontispiece in colours and gold, four full-page illuminated rectangular panels containing central medallions incorporating prayers at beginning and end, slight smudging and repairs otherwise in good condition, contemporary floral lacquer binding, covers decorated with sprays of wild roses, an iris and hydrangeas on a red ground, doublures decorated with intertwining floral and vegetal motifs in gold on a black ground, rebacked
189 x 130 mm.

The binding can be compared with an example in the Khalili Collection: see N. D. Khalili, B. W. Robinson, T. Stanley, Lacquer of the Islamic Lands: Part Two, London 1997, p. 168, no. 380.