Beschreibung:

A Miniature leaf-shaped Qur'an, copied by Mohammad Saleh Taom Zadeh, in Arabic, illuminated manuscript on paper [probably Turkey, dated 1284 AH (1867/68 AD)] 124 dark green leaf-shaped leaves (including one blank flyleaf at the end), complete, two slanted columns (lines imitating the veins of a leaf), with between 45 and 49 lines of miniature silver naskh, surah headings in red against silver panels, opening two leaves with illuminated borders formed by interlocking circles forming geometric patterns around the text, decorated in blue, silver and gold, 72 by 40 mm. (written space 58 by 33 mm.); original dark green morocco leaf-shaped covers, illuminated with similar circular devices to opening leaves of text, spine painted silver, the whole in original dark green morocco box illuminated in matching style, excellent condition This is an enchanting miniature Qur'an in an unusual decoupé leaf-shaped style with jagged edges on dark green paper. Much of the Islamic book arts have focused on the decoration of the page of its most fundamental text, the Qur’an. Here the artisans went one step further and employed the physical shape of that page as part of the book's decoration and message. While the Tuba tree is not actually mentioned in the Qur’an, it is commonly believed to be that which grows in Janna, the Islamic understanding of Paradise, and its leaves stand behind the shape of the delicate ‘leaves’ in this unusual codex. The use of silver and the presentation of the entire Qur'an in two tiny columns which mimic the veins of a real leaf, point to the quality of this manuscript and the wealth of the patron who commissioned it. Only two comparable Qur’ans have appeared on the open market in the last few years: both at Sotheby's, 19 October 1994, lot 57, and 24 April 1996, lot 18.