Prettily illuminated Qur'an Juz' from Muslim China
An illuminated Qur'an, Juz' XII.
Small folio (230 x 295 mm). Arabic manuscript on cream-coloured paper. 58 ff. (plus 2 flyleaves), 5 lines per extensum, written in crisp Sini script in black ink. Text within red double rules, verses separated by gilt roundels, surah heading in gold outlined in red. Opening bifolio with brightly coloured and gilt quasi-geometric illumination, final bifolio with gold and polychrome Central Asian floral and tendril motifs in the borders. Contemporary blind-tooled brown leather binding with fore-edge flap. Indigo blue cotton endpapers.
€ 12.000,00
Prettily illuminated Qur'an Juz' (one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Qur'an is divided) written in late 18th or early 19th century China. Arab presence in China dates back as far as the first Caliphate: the Prophet's companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is traditionally credited with introducing Islam to China as ambassador in 650. Indeed, many major cities in China, such as Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was known during the height of the Silk Road) and Beijing boast a long and rich Muslim history. Qur'an sections written by Chinese Muslims show Chinese influence clearly in both the decoration and the script, which is derived from naskh. The section of the Qu'ran copied here is the twelfth Juz', which comprises surah 11 (Hud), aya 6, to surah 12 (Yusuf), aya 52, named after the prophets Hud and Joseph.
Fingerstaining to lower corner and margin. An attractively illuminated example of the Chinese Muslim manuscript tradition.
