Matthew Thomas
Senior Specialist
Lot 154•
An illuminated Qur'an copied by Mulla Muhammad India, 18th Century(2)
8 October 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street£2,000 - £3,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our Islamic and Indian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
An illuminated Qur'an copied by Mulla Muhammad
India, 18th Century
India, 18th Century
Arabic manuscript on paper, 436 leaves, 10 lines to the page written in clear naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black ink, interlinear Persian translation written in a cursive script in red, gold discs decorated with blue dots between verses, inner margins ruled in blue and gold, catchwords, extensive commentaries written diagonally in nasta'liq script in red or black within gilt cloudbands, sura headings written in thuluth in red ink, one illuminated frontispiece, preceded by two illuminated medallions, in colours and gold, water damage has caused the removal of the blue pigment, heavily waterstained, some crude repairs, some dampstaining mostly restricted to the lower outer margin, later olive-green leather with stamped central medallions, cornerpieces and bands decorated with floral and vegetal motifs, slightly worn, 280 x 155 mm.; and an anthology of poetry including verses by Hafiz Shirazi, Shams-ad-Din Tabrizi, Amir Khusrau, Faizi, Jalal Asir, Dara Shikoh and Shah Jahan's answer, Mughal India, dated AH 1136/AD 1723-24, Persian manuscript in safinah form written on gold-sprinkled paper, 135 leaves, approximately 11 lines to the page written in elegant nasta'liq script in black ink, inner margins ruled in gold, one illuminated headpiece in colours and gold, headings and names of poets picked out in red, waterstaining and brown staining mostly restricted to outer margins, later red morocco gilt, covers decorated with European-style floral and vegetal motifs, crackled and worn, doublures and flyleaves of modern marbled paper, ownership seal impression above the illuminated headpiece
145 x 70 mm.(2)
145 x 70 mm.(2)