Rare Provincial Qur'an,

Copied for a regional king. A very handsome and clean example of a regional Qur'an, produced for a local ruler named 'Malik Muhammad bin Muhammad'. The colophon places the manuscript in 'al-Shamuttiya al-Balda' (being the city of Shammut) and states that it was copied on the 8th Muharram 1285, which equates to the year 1868 in the Gregorian calendar.

The use of copper-coloured embossed paper additions to the frontispiece of this Qur'an is highly unusual. Typically, manuscript Qur'ans are adorned with gold to highlight the opening two surah, as a symbol of opulence, wealth and grandeur as well as providing a gateway into the holy text. Muslims believe that the text itself is sacred and that a Qur'an, being the literal word of God, is an object that can carry spiritual properties. However, there are some followers of Islam that consider the use of gold in the Qur'an and on their person taboo or 'haram' (applicable only to men wearing gold, not women); this is a characteristic mostly associated with tribes from the Arabian peninsula and lower Levant and Qur'ans produced for patrons from these regions are typically void of any colour or illumination. This credence could explain the use of copper instead of gold in the present manuscript and would make it a rare example of its kind. Additionally, the copper additions here have been created using lengths of coloured embossed paper (adhered to the page), instead of coloured ointments painted directly to the page and thus distancing the decorations from the page and further exaggerating the importance of the written word.

Single volume, decorated manuscript on paper, watermarked with the triple crescent moon, in Arabic, complete, single column, 15 lines informal black naskh per page, surah headings in red, opening two leaves with copper-coloured embossed paper additions forming a frame around the text-blocks, important text divisions lettered in red to the margins, leaves ruled in fuchsia (possibly added later), verses marked by red markers, catch-words, clean and crisp internal condition; housed in contemporary maroon full leather over paste-boards with flap, central medallion onlays to covers in a green leather, some light scuffing, extremities rubbed, overall a very good example. Dimensions; 220 x 165mm (8¾ x 6½ inches).