Unknown - Quran Chapter - 1760

A part-bound manuscript of the Quran, in a weathered binding with flap closure, tooled geometric medallion and interlace borders, gilt-stamped panel decoration, heavy edge wear and surface losses throughout. It contains 52 pages of the Qur'an, beginning with decorative headpieces of Surah Al-An'am (v.111) indicating the start of the Juz (one of 30 parts of the Qur'an. It ends with Surah Al-A'raf v87. The condition is poor, with water damage, some 'tears' to pages, and some non-professional repair to others - see images. Many loose pages. Despite its condition, it makes a very interesting historical manuscript sold as a 'fragment'.

It is written in elegant Muhaqqaq script, characterised by bold left leaning extended upstrokes of the pen, well-spaced ligatures, and shallow and sweeping horizontal sublinear flourishes. During the caliphate of al Ma'mun (813-833) it became the preferred style of the Warraqun (professional scribes) to enable relatively easy reproduction. It also suggests the brush strokes associated with Chinese calligraphy, and is often referred to as sini (Chinese) Arabic. The red diacritical marks are Qur'anic recitation typical of Ilkhanid or Yuan-era manuscripts produced for Muslim communities in China.

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