Lot 32: A LARGE ILLUMINATED MAMLUK QURAN FOLIO, EGYPT, 14TH CENTURY

This lot comprises a large illuminated manuscript folio from a Quran, produced during the Mamluk period in Egypt in the 14th century. The text is written in a monumental Muhaqqaq script in dark brown ink on heavy cream-coloured paper. The calligraphy is fully vocalised with diacritical marks in red and blue, and individual verses are demarcated by small gold-leaf rosettes. One side of the leaf (Image 1) contains the concluding verses of Surah As-Saffat (Chapter 37), finishing with the phrase Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. This page is extensively decorated with a vertical sequence of five gold-leaf marginal medallions (shamsas) detailed with red and blue pigments, and a large horizontal rectangular panel at the foot containing gold and polychrome geometric interlacing. The reverse side contains the beginning of Surah Sad (Chapter 38), opening with the Basmala, and features two large gold-leaf marginal medallions on the right side.

42 by 31cm