Page 213 - Dreweatts November 10 2021 Chinese Works of Art

520
An illustrated copy of
the Mahabharata, India,
dated 1968-69

Urdu and Persian
manuscript on paper,
between 21 and 23 lines
to the page written in
black nasta’liq, some
words highlighted in
red, f.1a with the title
both in Urdu and
Sanskrit, divided into 17
chapters, incomplete
and misbound towards
the end, each page with
two numerals on the
upper external border, in
red the chapter number,
in black the page
number, each chapter
bearing a colophon (15
survived, chapter 14 and
17 missing), 14 paintings
in opaque pigments
and paper, some of the
characters identified
in nasta’liq, in leather
binding with flap

Leaf: 27.5 by 15.5cm.

519 Provenance:
519 From the collection
An illuminated Qur’an, Persia or North India, 18 century of the late Jerzy
th
Ostrovsky, who lived in
Arabic manuscript on paper, the text panel with gold sprinkle, 15 lines to the page written in neat black naskh, ruled in gold and black, verses Kabul in the 1960’s and
separated by gold and polychrome rosettes, gold verse markers in the margins, commentaries in black and red in different hands along the margins, 1970’s, working as the
minor restorations and re-inking on some pages, surah headings in gold, f.1b and 2a with a polychrome and gold illuminated double page, in a brown dentist to the Western
leather binding with stamped central medallion and leather spine diplomatic corps.

Leaf: 23 by 13.5cm; text panel: 15.7 by 8cm. £700-900

Provenance:
From the collection of the late Jerzy Ostrovsky, who lived in Kabul in the 1960’s and 1970’s, working as the dentist to the Western diplomatic corps.

£600-800
520

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