LOT NOT PRESENTED LIVE. - Lot 25

LOT NOT PRESENTED LIVE. PRIOR REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO BID WITH A €4,000 DEPOSIT PLEASE CONTACT US BY EMAIL: LYON@DEBAECQUE.FR Beautiful Ottoman Koran copied by al-Uskudari (Seyyid Salih Salahi Hafiz Üsküdari) Ink, polychrome pigments and gold on paper. Turkey, dated 1203 AH / 1788-89 AD H. 19.3 cm - W. 12.9 cm - D. 3.3 cm AR The illuminated colophon at the end of this fine manuscript tells us that it was copied by al-Sayyid Salih al-Salahi Hafiz, known as al-Uskudari (Seyyid Salih Salahi Hafiz Üsküdari), in the year 1203 AH (1788-89 AD). This is probably Mehmed Salih Efendi, also known as Hafiz Çemşir (the sword) because of the firmness of his calligraphic gesture. A highly esteemed calligrapher in his day, he was also a calligraphy instructor at the royal palace. He created the inscriptions on two fountains, in Atmeydan (the former racecourse) and in Yenibahçe. He died in 1236 AH (1820 AD). (Şevket Rado, Türk Hattatları, Istanbul, 1984, p. 195.) The manuscript opens with a bifolio richly illuminated in polychrome and gold with mandorles, arabesques and floral motifs, Greek friezes and floral cartouches, framing the first verses of the Koran written in clouds on a gilded background. The rest of the manuscript consists of 15 lines of text per page, framed in gilded and polychrome fillets, with delicately illuminated sura titles and marginal vignettes. The final folio features the colophon in a polychrome medallion. The handsome brown leather binding is deeply embossed with mandorla motifs, and gilded on the backgrounds with foliage and tchi clouds in negative. It features a Koranic verse on the sertab (the part covering the edge) (56:79 "Let only the purified touch"). It is accompanied by its richly embossed and gilded slipcase. (Luxurious later binding. Damage to cover). We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his help in identifying and describing these Ottoman manuscripts.