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拍品专文
The present manuscript carries a colophon with the name of Yaqut al-Musta'simi (d. circa 1298 AD). Yaqut is thought to have been born in Greece in the Byzantine city of Amasya. As a child he was committed into slavery and was then converted to Islam. Upon conversion, he took the name Abu'l Majd Jamal al-Din Yaqut bin ‘Abdullah. He then went on to study calligraphy in Baghdad with one of the masters of the day, Safi al-Din 'Abd al-Mu'min al-Urmawi (d. 1294) and later worked under the Caliph al-Musta’sim from whom he took the name he is now widely known by.
Yaqut was prolific as a calligrapher. This stemmed from his commitment to his craft but has also led to attribution issues as so many texts have subsequently been linked to him. During the sacking of Baghdad, it is rumoured that he secluded himself in a minaret to continue copying out a section of the Qur’an and hone his skill. A miniature from the treatise on calligraphers by Qadi Ahmad depicts this (illustrated in Y.H. Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy, London, 1978, p.18).
Though the text is likely from the around same period as Yaqut, or slightly later, the pages have been illuminated in 18th or 19th century Mughal India. The later addition to the earlier text demonstrates how manuscripts bearing the name of Yaqut and other renowned calligraphers were cherished and adorned to fit the aesthetic preferences of later generations, particularly within affluent court cultures such as Mughal India. An example with similar gold illumination was sold in these Rooms, 18 April 2016, lot 23. We can further attribute the illumination to India by the intricate lotus flower pendants throughout, a common motif used in Indian painting.
Yaqut was prolific as a calligrapher. This stemmed from his commitment to his craft but has also led to attribution issues as so many texts have subsequently been linked to him. During the sacking of Baghdad, it is rumoured that he secluded himself in a minaret to continue copying out a section of the Qur’an and hone his skill. A miniature from the treatise on calligraphers by Qadi Ahmad depicts this (illustrated in Y.H. Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy, London, 1978, p.18).
Though the text is likely from the around same period as Yaqut, or slightly later, the pages have been illuminated in 18th or 19th century Mughal India. The later addition to the earlier text demonstrates how manuscripts bearing the name of Yaqut and other renowned calligraphers were cherished and adorned to fit the aesthetic preferences of later generations, particularly within affluent court cultures such as Mughal India. An example with similar gold illumination was sold in these Rooms, 18 April 2016, lot 23. We can further attribute the illumination to India by the intricate lotus flower pendants throughout, a common motif used in Indian painting.