Unkown - Quran - India - 1548

An outstanding bi-folio miniature from an Indian Quran dated 1548/9., with each leaf consisting of 12 lines of fine Nashki scripture in black ink. The bi-folio contains scripture from the final verses of chapters 66 At-Tahrim (The Prohibition) v.8-12 and 67 Al-Mulk (All Authority) v.1-6. The former focus on the themes of repentance, the accountability of individuals, the role of righteous versus treacherous spouses, and the ultimate reward for believers. They serve as a concluding, powerful exhortation on faith, duty, and the examples of women in history. The first verses of chapter 67 focus on the absolute sovereignty of Allah over the universe, the purpose of life and death as a trial, the perfection of creation, and the consequences for those who reject faith.

The leaf, whose script is contained within 8.5x4.5cm framed areas, is amazingly clear given its size. The scripture is written in the space between gold clouds which separate the lines of text and contains simple gold aya. The borders to the scripture are particularly decorative. It is a superbly decorative. There is some wormhole damage (See figure 18i) which is most notable when held up to the light and the rosette on the left has been tipped in to replace the badly damaged marginal. However, it has been stabilised with archival paper where necessary ad the overall condition remarkably good given that the bi-folio is close to 475 years old.

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