Page 38 - 2021 April 1, ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs, Christie's London

A MAGNIFICENT QUR’AN

θ21 The present manuscript carries a colophon with the name of Yaqut al-
Musta'simi (d. circa 1298 AD), and was produced in the late thirteenth
QUR'AN
COLOPHON WITH NAME OF YAQUT MUSTA'SIMI, THE century. Abu'l Majd Jamal al-Din Yaqut bin 'Abdullah is thought to have been
CALLIGRAPHY, BAGHDAD SCHOOL, LATE 13TH CENTURY; THE born in the first or second decade of the 13th century, probably in the then
ILLUMINATION, SAFAVID IRAN, 17TH CENTURY Byzantine city of Amasya in Anatolia. He studied calligraphy in Baghdad
Arabic manuscript on paper, 294ff. plus three flyleaves, each folio with15ll. of with one of the masters of the day, Safi al-Din 'Abd al-Mu'min al-Urmawi (d.
elegant black naskh in clouds reserved against a gold ground, within gold and 1294), who worked first for Al-Musta'sim and then for his conqueror, Hülegü
polychrome rules, gold and polychrome rosette verse markers, sura headings and Ata-Malik Juwayni - the Persian historian and governor of the city. He
in large gold thuluth in clouds reserved against a gold ground, occasional became the librarian (under the direction of the historian Ibn al-Fuwati,
sura headings in gold and polychrome illuminated panels, the margins of d.1318) of the Mustansiriyyah madrasa in Baghdad - a richly endowed
each folio with gold floral illumination, catchwords, gold and blue marginal
foundation which was established by the Abbasid caliph in the early 13th
medallions, opening bifolio with gold and polychrome illuminated shamsas
century. He was also protégé to Juwayni - and taught calligraphy to his sons
on a gold and polychrome floral ground, the following bifolio illuminated in
and brother, Shams al-Din, the head of the chancery (sahib diwan). He is
gold and polychrome, colophon with name of Yaqut al-Musta'simi and dated
believed to have died in Baghdad around AH 697/1298 AD.
shawwal AH 688/October-November 1289 AD, the following folio with a gold
and polychrome illuminated cartouche, in gilt stamped morocco with flap, gilt Yaqut is considered one of most important calligraphers in the Islamic world.
stamped and painted doublures, overall good condition
Text panel 8º x 4æin. (21 x 11.9cm.); folio 11æ x 6√in. (29.9 x 17.5cm.) He is famed for being the teacher of six pupils who went on to become
well-known calligraphers in their own right. The identity of these six, or the
£300,000-500,000 US$430,000-710,000 sitta, as they are known, is debated but it is widely agreed that they included
€350,000-580,000 Arghun al-Kamili, 'Abdullah al-Sayrafi, Mubarak Shah bin Qutb and Ahmad
al-Suhrawardi. Known to be a strict tutor who demanded constant practice,
Yaqut is said to have kept himself in practice by copying two sections of
the Qur'an every day. During the sacking of Baghdad, he is said to have
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