An illuminated Qur'an

Safavid Persia, Shiraz, second half of the 16th Century

Arabic manuscript on paper, 361 leaves, 12 lines to the page written in large naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black and red, text within cloudbands on a gold ground, verse-endings marked by gold rosettes with blue dots, marginal gold and polychrome circular medallions, nisf, hizb and juz' marginal markers in naskhi script in gold, inner margins ruled in colours and gold, sura headings in white naskhi script on a gold ground within illuminated panels, the opening double page with two large illuminated shamsas (one laid down on a new leaf), the following double page with text in nashki script in white within central cartouches against profuse full-page illumination in colours and gold, illuminated headpiece opening the first two leaves of sura II, al-baqarah with illuminated headpiece and text in clouds on gold ground, sura al-'Umran containing one silver-sprinkled double page, the preceding double page with the text in cloudbands against a ground cross-hatched in gold, a similarly gold cross-hatched leaf after the silver-sprinkled page, the last two leaves with prayers in Arabic and Persian, binding added recently, Safavid, 16th Century, red leather covers with stamped gilt central floral medallions and cornerpieces, the doublures with a central field of fine polychrome cartouches overlaid with a decoupé gold floral interlace, border cartouches similarly worked
335 x 240 mm.