SIGNED AHMAD AL-NAYRIZI (FL.1682-1722 AD), SAFAVID IRAN, DATED AH 1112 / 1700-1701 AD

Combining strength with elegance, the hand of Ahmad al-Nayrizi (fl.1676-1740) is 'a confident one, characterized by exceptionally well-formed letters. Its most striking features are its relatively large size and the wide spacing of the lines of text' (Nabil Safwat, The Art of the Pen, The Nasser D. Collection of Islamic Art, London, 1996, p.212), as well as the prominence given to the vocalisation (Sheila Blair, Islamic Calligraphy, Edinburgh, 2008, pp.224-5). A prayer book copied by Nayrizi is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, (2003.239, illustrated Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2011, no.191, pp.272-274). Nayrizi’s later fame is attested by the vast collecting of his work and the frequent refurbishing of the Qur’ans he wrote, such one for Governor of Khorassan, Hamza Mirza Hishmat al-Dawla (d. 1880), sold in these Rooms, 1 May 2025, lot 54. Other works with the signature of Nayrizi and sold in these Rooms, see 6 October 2009, lot 134; 27 April 2023, lot 40; 30 October 2025, lot 37. For a short biography on Nayrizi, see the previous lot.