14/02/2025
Upcoming sale, 22 February:
Important Safavid Qur’an
Ink, polychrome pigments and gold on paper, stamped and gilded leather
Western Iran, Shiraz, first half of the 16th century
34 x 22 x 6 cm
A magnificent 16th-century Safavid Qur’an, distinguished by its impressive size and exceptional craftsmanship. The manuscript opens with a stunning double-page frontispiece featuring illuminated polychrome medallions (shamsa) and inscriptions in elegant white thuluth script. This is followed by a richly adorned bifolio of Surah al-Fātiḥa, with golden cartouches set against a striking sky-blue background, surrounded by intricate mandorlas with delicate arabesque patterns. Throughout the Qur’an, each page is meticulously framed with gilded and polychrome borders. The text is arranged with seventeen lines per page, with the first, ninth, and seventeenth lines highlighted in bold thuluth script in vibrant gold or blue, while the remaining lines are written in refined black naskh script. Vertical cartouches, adorned with floral arabesques, and gilded rosettes serve as verse markers, enhancing the manuscript’s decorative appeal. An illuminated double-page spread marks the opening of Surah Maryam, with vivid colors and intricate geometric patterns. The final pages are equally adorned, featuring a prayer inscribed in white and gold thuluth against richly decorated backgrounds.
The binding, likely original and contemporary with the text, is crafted in red leather with stamped mandorlas, corner-pieces, and cartouches bearing oxidized silver and gold arabesque patterns. The flap includes a calligraphic cartouche with verse 79 from Surah al-Wāqi‘a: “None shall touch it except the purified.”
This Qur’an is a magnificent example of the luxurious manuscript production of the Safavid period. Its large format, the exceptional quality of the illumination on the opening and final prayer pages, and the consistent ornamentation of each page affirm the manuscript’s importance, likely commissioned by a high-ranking patron and demonstrating the virtuosity of Persian book artisans of the time.
View the full catalog here : https://tinyurl.com/4ahfk9vy
(Complete dossier available upon request)