Great results at the sale
“Orientalism, Islamic Art & Philhellenism »
Sale on 24 January 2023
By Tajan, at the Hôtel Drouot.
PARIS – Yesterday, the Tajan auction house offered a very fine sale of Orientalism, Islamic Art & Philhellenism under the hammer of the auctioneer Louise de Causans at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris.
This sale, which inaugurates the year for the department, is marked by very good results* and gave rise to some fine bids:
Spotlight on the large handwritten Koran page dating from the 9th-10th century! After an incredible bidding battle, this piece was sold for a breathtaking €216,480*, almost 50 times its estimate.
237.
LARGE PAGE OF THE KORAN XLV: 24-XLVI: 3
Beautiful manuscript page on parchment of 20 lines written in kufic script in brown ink with diacritical marks in red, text of Sura 45: 24 to 46: 3. Title of Sura 46 missing.
(Worn, missing and torn).
North Africa, or Near East, 9th-10th centuries.
Estimates 4 000 / 6 000 €
Sold 216 480€ (including fees)
This large Koran folio dating from the very first centuries of Islam is interesting for its vertical format, which evokes the first Korans on parchment, whereas the horizontal format known as the ‘Italian’ format very quickly became established in the East, as was the case for the blue Koran of Kairouan dating from around the same period. The writing of this Koran folio is characterised by the extreme elongation of certain letters (mashq) on a line. The letters written in Kufic calligraphy are punctuated with red vocalisation.
CONTACT
DÉBORAH TEBOUL /Director
+33 1 53 30 30 57
[email protected]
WEI WANG / Specialist
+33 1 53 30 30 65
[email protected]