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Lot Essay
The pink dyed paper on which this Qur’an folio is executed allows a secure attribution to medieval Spain. Despite vellum remaining the main medium for Qur’an manuscripts in medieval Ifriqiyya, Almohad Spain is known for its use of high quality paper for manuscripts of all kinds. This type of paper is believed to have been produced in Jativa, near Valencia, the site of the earliest documented paper mill in Spain (Fraser and Kwiatkowski, 2006, p.64).
The David Collection holds a bifolium from the same manuscript, while others have appeared at auction. 215 folios from the collection of the Maréchal Lyautey were sold at the Hotel Georges V, Paris, 30 October 1975, lot 488. They reappeared at Sotheby’s, 14 April 1976, lot 247. Other leaves from this manuscript have since sold in these Rooms, including a single folio and a bifolio, 26 April 2012, lots 135 and 136, and a folio on 10 October 2013, lot 70. More recently two bifolios and two single folios were sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2018, lot 22, 26 April 2018, lot 5, 26 October 2017, lot 66, and 2 May 2019, lot 13.
The David Collection holds a bifolium from the same manuscript, while others have appeared at auction. 215 folios from the collection of the Maréchal Lyautey were sold at the Hotel Georges V, Paris, 30 October 1975, lot 488. They reappeared at Sotheby’s, 14 April 1976, lot 247. Other leaves from this manuscript have since sold in these Rooms, including a single folio and a bifolio, 26 April 2012, lots 135 and 136, and a folio on 10 October 2013, lot 70. More recently two bifolios and two single folios were sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2018, lot 22, 26 April 2018, lot 5, 26 October 2017, lot 66, and 2 May 2019, lot 13.