One of the earliest extant Chinese Qur'ans

[Qur'an - Ming Dynasty]. Illuminated Chinese Qur'an.

€ 250.000,00

The earliest traceable Ming Dynasty Qur'an, one of the a very few extant examples of its kind. Sumptuously illuminated and still in its contemporary binding, this manuscript is dated to AH 900, or 1494 CE.

Chinese Qur'ans from the 15th century usually appear only in Juz' form (which splits the holy book into thirty sections, each forming a separate manuscript); by contrast, complete, single-volume specimens are almost non-existent in the trade. Only one earlier Chinese Qur'an, the famous Yuan Dynasty Qur'an which commanded £388,800 at Christie's in 2006, has appeared at auction: the present manuscript is dated only 157 years later, in the early Ming dynasty. Few Chinese Qur'ans are available in institutions, and fewer still from the Ming period. Among the exceptions are those in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and in the Asian Art Museum San Francisco, both of which own comparable but later Qur'ans; the Doha specimen is undated but no earlier than the 17th century CE (thus, late Ming).

A Qur'an like this one would probably have been crafted among one of the several Muslim religious and intellectual hubs in Ming China, perhaps even in Nanjing itself, then the centre of Muslim learning and, together with Beijing, one of the two capitals of the Ming. Despite new restrictions placed on Muslim communities after the fall of the Yuan, during the Ming period several important Chinese military officials and generals were Muslims; the Zhengde Emperor (1491-1521), who reigned during the completion of this manuscript, had numerous Muslim advisors at his court and collected several items of porcelain decorated with Islamic calligraphy. Indeed, this era saw perhaps the most famous Chinese Muslim of all: Zheng He (1371-1433/35 CE), confidant of emperors, admiral, explorer, diplomat, and court eunuch. Zheng He headed seven Ming Treasure Voyages which reached as far as the Arabian Gulf (where he stopped in Hormuz) and the Red Sea, to Mecca and Medina.

Stamped with a multilingual mix of both Chinese and crescent-shaped Arabic ownership seals, this manuscript is a beautiful example of the unique Muslim culture and achievements of the Ming period, and an important piece of Muslim history.