A SINGLE FOLIO IN EASTERN KUFIC SCRIPT FROM A DISPERSED MANUSCRIPT OF THE QUR'AN
PERSIA, 11TH/ 12TH CENTURY
Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000
Auction: 11 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
Arabic manuscript on buff paper, comprising sura 2, al-Baqara, parts of verses 221-22, with 7 lines of black Eastern kufic script with red diacritics, interlinear translations in Persian script, verses separated by gold and red dotted florets, a large gold and polychrome medallion within the margin
Dimensions
30.7cm x 22cm
Footnote
This single folio with script on either side in Eastern kufic on buff paper appears to belong to the same Qur'an as a section sold through these rooms (see Fine Asian and Islamic Works of Art, 16 May 2023, lot 304). Another single folio (Sura II, al-Baqara, v.146-150) that was previously in the collection of Adrienne Minassian, New York, 1955, was sold through Sotheby’s, London, Stuart Cary Welch Collection Part II, 6 April 2011, lot 13.
The style of script of this Qur'an folio epitomises the transitional period from the early kufic style into the more angular and more accentuated regional styles called ‘eastern’ and ‘western’. The crossed and perfectly symmetrical lam-alif is a characteristic of the eastern kufic. Another interesting feature of this Qur’an is the structure of the thick, buff paper, whose chain lines and laid lines are clearly visible.