Beschreibung:

Two leaves from a Safavid Qur'an, from verse 13 of the Surah Al-Hadid (LVII) to the opening of the Surah al-Mujadila (LVIII), in Arabic, illuminated manuscript on paper [Persia, mid sixteenth century] two leaves, single column, 13 lines comprising two lines of large muhaqqaq at the top and bottom, two text blocks of fine black naskh script (each comprising 5 lines) and a central line of large gold thuluth in gold, surah heading in white thuluth against gold panels, each page with scrolling gold vines in vertical sides on either side of the muhaqqaq text blocks, 3 decorated marginal devices in blue and gold, verses marked by gold roundels, diacritics in red, some light surface soiling and minor worming to margins, 240 by 145 mm. (written space 185 by 105 mm.) These leaves are from a finely illuminated manuscript written in an excellent hand and produced with exceptional attention to detail. They are examples of an important moment of Qur'anic production in Persia at the height of the Safavid period and are close in style to manuscripts produced by the master calligrapher and illuminator Ruzbihan Muhammad al-Tab'i al-Shirazi, who was active from 1514-1547 in Shiraz.