Unknown - Quran - Chinese - 1760

A bi-folio from an 18th Century Chinese Qur'an (circa 1760) written in elegant Muhaqqaq script, characterised by bold left leaning extended upstrokes of the pen, well-spaced ligatures, and shallow and sweeping horizontal sub-linear 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 bi-folio contains the transition verses between chapter 76 Surah Al-Insan (Humans) and chapter 77, Surah Al-Mursalat (Those 'Winds' Sent Forth). The left folio contains the chapter heading in a green and gold illuminated band. Gold rosettes mark the verse groups. The main themes covered by these verses are: the nature and disbelief of consequences (Baqarah 19-20; Insan 27-28), with vivid imagery of lightning emphasising humanities fragility; Allah's divine power and sovereignty over creation; call to worship and monotheism; and mercy versus punishment.

The measurements shown are for the mounted manuscript. Each leaf is 12x16cm.

This is a fine folio and would grace any collection.

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 research the article, to mount it, 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 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.