Sourate VI Al-Inam (Les bestiaux) Lot n° 14

An Ottoman Arabic manuscript, Sura al-In'am with prayers, early 16th century Manuscript in Arabic, 6 leaves on paper with gold-sprinkled margins, calligraphed on seventeen lines per page, alternating three lines of thuluth in gold, two lines of muhaqqaq in black, framing four times three lines of naskh. The manuscript includes two illuminated sarlowh frontispieces. Verse separations are marked by small illuminated rosettes. Brown morocco flap binding with richly embossed and gilded decoration of tchi clouds and arabesques. Condition: traces of damp, some repairs. 24 x 16 cm The frontispiece of this manuscript, decorated with a scalloped cartouche, can be compared with a prayer manuscript from the same period published in M. Fraser, W. Kwiatkowski, Ink and Gold, 2013, p.114, n°33. The ornamentation is close to earlier Timurid and Turkmen styles, giving the early Ottoman manuscripts an experimental appearance. The two manuscripts also share the use of different calligraphy on each page, between naskh and large muhaqqaq script, a usage inherited from the 15th century. Provenance: Private collection. Public sale, Sotheby's, London, October 12, 1990, n°218.