Description:

AN ALMOST COMPLETE MAGHRIBI QUR'AN, ANDALUSIA, CIRCA 11TH-12TH CENTURY

This manuscript belongs to a group of single-volume Maghribī Qur’ans written in small square format, the majority of which were copied in the flourishing cities of southern Spain the 12th and 13th centuries. In this period, scribes fromthe great Andalūsī centres, including Valencia, Cordoba, Seville and Almeria became famous across the Maghrib, as we know from biographical dictionaries. Qur’ans in this group often exhibit the same square format, and relatively small size, with the text executed using minute Maghribī script. They feature sūra headings in gold Kufic with illuminated palmettes and are written on finely prepared, thin parchment, typically with 21–28 lines per page. Umberto Bongianino has identified 21 dated manuscripts from the 12th century which adhere to this typology, of which the vast majority were copied in southern Spain (excepting only two manuscripts which were copied in Marrakesh). Layout and Script The manuscript’s most distinctive feature is its remarkablemicrography. Despite its small size, the copyist has taken painstaking effort to copy 26 lines of text per page, in an accomplished Maghribī Round Style script, copied onto extremely thin, delicate parchment. The script is of comparable quality to Qur’ans by the most famed calligraphers of al-Andalus during this period, such as great Valencian copyist Ibn Ghaṭṭūs (see for example Istanbul University Library, MS. A 6754, copied in Valencia, 578/1182-3 and Qur’an dated 556/1160 which was sold in Sotheby’s auction house, 22 April 1999, Lot 12). The use of a polychrome notation system is consistent with the other manuscripts in this group: yellow dots mark the hamza above or below alif with green dots indicating the waṣla. The vocalisation is executed in red except for tashdid and sukūn which are executed in cobalt blue. A later Maghribī hand has inserted corrections where the text is damaged or unclear,suggesting that this manuscript moved from Spain to North Africa after the Reconquista. Illumination Based on contemporary manuscripts, we can assume that this Qur’an originally had an elaborate full-page illumination at its beginning and end. Unfortunately, these have since been lost. The consistent use of gold and chrysography throughout the manuscript point to a patron of great wealth. Sūra headings appear in gold Kufic with delicate illuminated palmettes in the margins, outlined in blue and featuring a variety of intricate foliate motifs (perhaps most similar to a Qur’an in the Istanbul University Library, ms A6753, copied in 586/1190).As in other manuscripts in this group, sūra headings are sometimes split to accommodate the final lines of the preceding sūra at the centre of the page (cf. Bavaria State Library, Cod.Or.62, f.119r; Istanbul University Library, MS. A6755, f.64r; Saxon State and University Library, MS. Ea.293, f.106r). The manuscript does not contain single-verse markers, only the fifth and tenth verses are signified – a feature which is uncommon in the wider corpus. Exceptions to this include a Qur’an in the Saxon State Library dated 580/1184 and copied in an unknown location, a Qur’an copied in Almeria and in534/1139 (National Library of Spain, ms. RES/272), and a third Qur’an, also attributed to 12th-century Almeria, which was sold in these rooms (27 Oct 2022, Lot 20). The fifth-verse marker is an ornamented hāʾ (5 in the Arabic abjad), a motif common across this group. The six-lobed rosette, used to indicate the tenth verse, is less common. Ten-verse markers in this group usually feature a gold circle surrounded by coloured dots. However, we do find this alternative motif in an undated manuscript in the Staatsbibliothek, Berlin (Landberg 823), as well as in other contemporary manuscriptswith different layouts, such as the six-line Qur’an attributed to 13th-century Granada in the British Library (MS. Or.12523). Ḥizb markers appear in the margins as roundels with golden borders and ornate Kufic inscriptions. These mark the beginning of each sixtieth of the text. These are usually surrounded by a golden band, divided into eight segments, with alternating red and blue dots around the border. These roundels closely resemble those in a Qur’an in the Egyptian National Library copied in Valencia, 557/1161, a Qur’an in the Bavarian State Library copied in Seville, 624/1226, and aQur’an attributed to the 12th-century and likely copied in Southern Spain that was sold in these rooms (27 April 2004, Lot 46). Occasionally the ḥizb markers are surrounded by more elaborate geometric strapwork, comparable to that employed in a Qur’an copied in Cordoba, 533/1138–9(Bavarian State Library, Cod. Arab. 4). This fascinating Qur’an offers a rare glimpse into the flourishing manuscript production of southern Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries, reflecting the skill and artistry of Andalūsī scribes. Its meticulous calligraphy, refined illumination, and carefully structured layout attest to the rich intellectual and artistic traditions that defined the region’s book culture before the Reconquista.

16.5cm x 14cm

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