Illuminated Qur'an

A finely bound, illuminated Qur'an, commissioned for Fath Ali Shah Qajar.

• Copied by a Royal Scribe of Qajar Emperor Fath ‘Ali Shah.
• Signed Muhammad ‘Ali [al-Katib al-Sultani ibn ‘Abdul Rahim al-Khwansari]
• Qajar Persia: dated 1244 AH (1828-29 AD).
• 326 leaves plus two fly-leaves (possibly later additions).
• Single column, text in Arabic.
• 14 lines of black naskh script, each of the lines of text separated by gold bands, the text panel set inside gold and polychrome rules, sura headings in red ink on gold ground flanked on either side by gold and polychrome geometric designs, gold and polychrome roundel verse markers, large cusped gold and polychrome marginal medallion section markers with red text, occasional marginal commentary with the naskh text in white cloud reserved against gold ground, the gold and polychrome illuminated double shamsa pages at the beginning and end with the text in red and containing the signature and date, the opening verses set within a striking gold and polychrome illuminated carpet page with red borders and floral vines.
• Housed in a contemporary polychrome floral lacquer binding.

The scribe Muhammad ‘Ali al-Katib al-Sultani is known to have been active in the Qajar courts between 1823 and 1833 and at least three other Qur’ans copied by him were commissioned directly by the Iranian ruler at the time, Fath ‘Ali Shah Qajar. Two of these Qur’ans are currently housed in the Golestan Palace Library in Tehran.