Arts of the Islamic World & India

Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (d.1025 AD), Shahnameh, Persia, Safavid, 16th century

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Persian manuscript on paper, 458 leaves, each separated by a flyleaf, 25 lines to the page written in nasta'liq in black ink, arranged in 4 columns within gold and black intercolumnar rules, headings in larger gold and red nasta'liq, within gold, blue and black rules, with 16 illustrations, f.5b with illuminated headpiece surmounting text, a further illuminated headpiece within the text, in European marbled paper binding

text panel: 23.4 by 13.6cm.

leaf: 31.5 by 20.3cm.

Please note that there may be restrictions on the import of property of Iranian origin into the USA and some or all member countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council. Any buyers planning to import property of Iranian origin into any of these countries should satisfy themselves of the relevant import regime. Sotheby's will not assist buyers with the shipment of such items into the USA or the GCC. In addition, FedEx and US courier services will no longer carry Iranian-origin goods to any location. Any shipment services would need to be provided by a Fine Art shipping company.

Formerly in the collection of a Middle Eastern Ambassador to the U.K., early 1970s

This impressive manuscript of the Shahnameh includes sixteen large illustrations. An unusual feature is the relatively liberal use of silver pigment in the shading around the edges of many of scenes. The silver has since oxidised but in its original conception the pigment would have produced a shimmering vignette around the illustration.

An extremely rare illustrated manuscript of the Ka'banameh (A history of the Ka'ba) by Abdulrahman Gubari (d.1566), signed by Ahmad [...] al-Khatib, Kaposvár, Hungary, dated Dhu'l-Hijjah 1080 AH/April-May 1670 AD

Estimate: 120,000 - 180,000 GBP

Ibn Battuta (d.1377), Tuhfat an-Nuzzar fi ghara'ib al-amsar wa 'aja'ib asfar, a volume from The Travels, North Africa, 17th century

Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 GBP

Abu Mansur Mawhub ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Khadr al-Jawaliqi (d.1144 AD), Kitab takmilat islah ma taghlat fihi al-'amma, on Arabic grammar, Near East, circa 1300 AD

Estimate: 40,000 - 60,000 GBP

A large illuminated Qur'an, Persia, Shiraz, Safavid, 16th century

Estimate: 120,000 - 180,000 GBP

Ibn al-Shatir (d.1375), Nihayat al-su’al fi tashih al-usul, on astronomy, Egypt or Syria, Mamluk, 14th century

Estimate: 150,000 - 250,000 GBP

Al-Tughra'i (d.1121 AD), Kitab mafatih al-rahma wa asrar al-hikma ('The keys of mercy and secrets of wisdom', on chemistry and alchemy), volume two, North Africa, Morocco, 19th century

Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 GBP

Abu Muhammad Makki ibn Abi Talib al-Qaysi al-Qayrawani al-Andalusi al-Qurtubi, al-kashf 'an wujuh al-qira'at al-sab' wa 'ilaliha wa hijajiha ('Unveiling the Aspects of the Seven Recitations'), Near East, circa 1100 AD

Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 GBP

The Pandnameh (Book of Advice) of Luqman, copied by Mahmud ibn Ishaq, Central Asia, Bukhara, Safavid, dated 941 AH/1534-35 AD

Estimate: 15,000 - 25,000 GBP

An illuminated Qur'an, Persia, ⁠Safavid, 16th century

Estimate: 40,000 - 60,000 GBP

A manuscript on fortune-telling including Ikhtiyarat al-ayyam (A treatise on hemerology, from the sayings of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the Prophet Daniel), commissioned for Catholic Maronite Khawaja Yusuf ibn Khawaja Antoine Andrea, copied by Gabriel son of Michael Asfour, probably Northern Lebanon, 1 Tammuz (July) 1778 AD

Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 GBP