Unknown - Quran - Chinese - 1760

A fine example of Sini (Chinese Islamic) Quranic manuscript, influenced heavily by Arabic Islamic tradition, from an 18th Century Chinese Qur'an (circa 1760).

It presents verses 21-23 of Surah Al-Inshiqaq (The Splitting Asunder), in bold confident Arabic calligraphy. The three verses incribed looselyy translated read: "And when the Quran is recited to them, they do not prostrate. But those who believed deny this. And Allah is most knowing of what they accumulate". They form the dramatic climax to the Surah and carry the weight of obligatory prostration, meaning that its recitation compels the listener to bow in submission.

The Arabic calligraphic tradition asserts itself through the disciplined three-line layout, the use of diacriticals ans the gilded rosette verse dividers which are conventions rooted in classical Quranic manuscript of the Arab world.

It is is a striking example of Sini script, a distinctive Chinese style of Arabic calligraphy developed by Muslim communities in China, suggesting brush strokes. It is in Muhhaqaq, characterised by bold left leaning extended upstrokes of the pen, well-spaced ligatures, and shallow and sweeping horizontal sublinear flourishes. It is 'meticulously produced' as the name implies. During the caliphate of al Ma'mun (813-833) it became the preferred style of the Warraqun (professional scribes) to enable relatively easy reproduction.

Gilded rosette verse dividers float between the lines of text. The margins are filled with peonies, lotus blossoms and leafy stems in sage green. A gold lotus crown finial surmounts the test panel, a motif drawn from imperial Chinese visual culture.

This condition is fair. There is some thinning and some srtegthening has taken place on the reverse. It is unique and a visually arresting folio made not merely for devotion but also Quranic study.

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