Unknown - Qur'an - Bihar India - 1425

An illuminated folio miniature from a Qur'an originating in the state of Bihar, India, circa 1425. The leaf carries Surah Saba (Chapter 34, Sheba) v.31-37, one of the Qur'an's most vivid depictions of the Day of Judgement, the exchange between the arrogant and the oppressed as they stand before the Lord, trading blame for who led them astray. The passage culminates in the verse, "wa ma amwalukum wa la awladukum bi-llati tuqarribukum indana zulfa" - a foundational Islamic teaching that wealth and children cannot draw one nearer to God, only faith and righteous deeds can.

It is written in a Arabic naskh script, with black ink and red diactritical markings to guide the devotee through prayer. In this case there are 11 lines of fine script with gold 'aya' marking the verses and several 'Allah' in gold thuluth font. The folio has two decorative marginals, a teardrop medallion in lapis and red housing a gold roundel, suspended between smaller lobed finials, a hallmark of a refined court ateliers of medieval India.

Please note that shipping costs are not solely the cost of the postal delivery service itself. Included within the shipping price is the work undertaken to prepare the article, for photography, for uploading to Catawiki, for preparation and packaging the article securely and for transporting the article to the postal delivery agent for processing.

Also, please consider when bidding on this lot that this artwork is shipped from the UK. Import duties will now have to be paid by the recipient to the Postal Service when the parcel arrives in your country. This will likely vary between 5% and 20% of the sale price depending on your country's Import Rate, so please do check this if you are concerned. This is a Tax collected on behalf of your Government and is not an additional fee charged by us.