Description

8vo (165 x 105 mm). Illuminated Arabic ms. on paper. 312 ff., 15 lines, Naskh script. Black ink on polished paper. Double-page 'unwan on first two pages shows elaborate gilt ornamentation; ornamental colophon. Borders in red, black and gold. Gold discs between verses, sura headings written in gold. Blindstamped and gilt calf. Signed by a copyist named Hafez 'Ahmad ibn Ahmad al-ma'ruf, "Ahmad the Hafez" (respect title bestowed on those who have proved to know the entire Quran by heart), son of the renowned ‘Ahmad’, as quoted (underlined) in the colophon: Kataba hada-l mushaf as-sarif adafu ibad-‘Allah al-Kabir al-Mutaal Hafez ‘Ahmad, ibn ‘Ahmad almaruf,ba-yawwab-e (?) halifa-zade Hamidu-llah Taala [.] (literally, ‘he who wrote this noble Qur'an is a very foolish slave of God the Greatest, the Exalted, named Hafez ‘Ahmad, son of the renowned Ahmad, servant (?) of Hamidu-llah Taala, offspring of the Caliph […]’), etc. - Binding partially restored, in good condition.