[Unknown] - Qur'an - Qajar - 1809

An outstanding folio of exceptional scholarly and decorative richness from a damaged Qur’an of the early Qajar dynasty (1794-1925) which had the exact date on the last page of AH1224, or AD 1809/10. It is written in black naskh script, with each verse being accompanied by a fine Persian translation in red - a hallmark of Qajar scholarly manuscripts, making the scripture accessible to no n-Arabic Persian speakers.

It presents two thematically paired Meccan surahs, Surat al-Qari'ah (chapter 101 - The Striking Calamity) and Surah al-Takathur (chapter 102 - The Rivalry for More Gains). Chapter 101 opens with its thunderous triple invocation - "The Calamity - what is the calamity? And what shall make you know what the calamity is? - depicting The Day of Judgement when mankind shall be like scattered moths and the mountains as carded wool and where souls are weighed in the balance. It leads seamlessly into chapter 102 which provides a searing rebuke to "The craving for worldly gains which is a distraction and which 'soon you shall know'."

The elaborate gilded cartouche headings, are painted in white Thuluth against lapis and polychrome arabesque grounds. The wide outer margins carry dense Persian tarsier (exegetical commentary) alongside godl and rust-coloured floral medallions. These are both decorative and function as section markers.

The Arabic calligraphy descends directly from the Arabic canon codified by the great Abbasid master Ibn Muqla in C10th Baghdad. Persian scribes absorbed and refined these traditions, imbuing them with elegance while preserving the Arabic origins.


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