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Lot Essay
This magnificent Safavid Qur’an illustrates the height Shirazi illumination in the mid-sixteenth century. It is extremely heavily illuminated with three densely decorated bifolios at the start of the manuscript and two further illuminated bifolios at the end.
The overall layout of the second bifolio of the Qur’an, which contains the Fatiha, finds a close comparable on a Qur’an in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection which bears a date of AH 972/1564-65 AD and is also attributed to Shiraz (James, 1992, pp.186-187, no.45). On both, the central rectangle of the illumination contains a central gold-ground calligraphic cartouche with three smaller cartouches above and below. The ground around them is cobalt-blue and both the cartouches and the ground are elegantly filled with flowering scrolls and polychrome cloud bands. Similar scrolls and cloud bands can be found on other Shirazi Qur’ans, including one in Türk ve Islam Muzesi in Istanbul which is attributed to circa 1580 (TIEM 378; Istanbul, 2012, pp. 330-331, no. 84). A Shirazi Qur’an with a similar falnama is also housed in Istanbul (Istanbul, 2012, pp. 336-337, no. 85). A closely comparable Qur’an with similar elegant illumination sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2018, lot 109.
The overall layout of the second bifolio of the Qur’an, which contains the Fatiha, finds a close comparable on a Qur’an in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection which bears a date of AH 972/1564-65 AD and is also attributed to Shiraz (James, 1992, pp.186-187, no.45). On both, the central rectangle of the illumination contains a central gold-ground calligraphic cartouche with three smaller cartouches above and below. The ground around them is cobalt-blue and both the cartouches and the ground are elegantly filled with flowering scrolls and polychrome cloud bands. Similar scrolls and cloud bands can be found on other Shirazi Qur’ans, including one in Türk ve Islam Muzesi in Istanbul which is attributed to circa 1580 (TIEM 378; Istanbul, 2012, pp. 330-331, no. 84). A Shirazi Qur’an with a similar falnama is also housed in Istanbul (Istanbul, 2012, pp. 336-337, no. 85). A closely comparable Qur’an with similar elegant illumination sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2018, lot 109.