Rare Kashmiri Teaching Qur'an, in a signed Indian binding.

Kashmir, North India, circa 1800. . Single volume, illuminated manuscript on polished paper, in Arabic with interlinear translations to Farsi, extensive annotations to margins throughout in Farsi, complete, 548 leaves plus a later free endpaper at the back, 305 x 200 mm; single column, 11 lines black naskh script in Arabic, with interlinear 11 lines red nastaliq with Farsi translation, surah headings in red. leaves framed within double-ruling in red, interlinear colouring of cloud-like shapes around text in gilt throughout the volume, opening and final double-pages with gilt and polychrome decorations to margins extending outwards from the text block, ornamental designs to margins marking important sections of the text, these often in blue and gilt, many annotations throughout in a contemporary nastaliq script containing qur'anic commentary, many of these upside-down, preliminary and penultimate leaves with chips t outer edges (with slight loss), a few later repairs; housed in a contemporary decorated leather binding signed by the binder 'Umul' Fakhr al-Din', with flap, red leather with overlaid corner-pieces and central medallions in gilt stamped arabesque shapes, rebacked in modern red calf, silk page tabs marking important divisions of the text, a little rubbed at extremities.
islam24 39 Rare example of a north Indian teaching Qur'an in a contemporary signed binding. In most cases, teaching Qur'ans are plain in their appearance because they are functional 'working' examples of the text for daily use. The present example, although provincial, has been illuminated in gilt and is of a higher quality than one would expect from a teaching Qur'an. The calligraphy is elegant and there is interlinear translation to Farsi, in a similarly attractive nasta'liq script with every single line of the Qur'an outlined in gold. There are wide margins throughout the volume, as often found in teaching Qur'ans, with contemporary annotations (in Farsi) providing commentaries and notes about various sections of the holy text. Many of these are upside-down and indicate that it is likely that the student would have recited from one side of the codex and the teacher would have faced them and read their notes from a reverse viewpoint.

The level of gilding indicates that this volume was probably copied for the child/children of an important courtly figure. Furthermore the format of the annotations also suggests one-to-one private tuition instead of a teacher using the Qur'an for a wider audience (within a mosque or madrasa setting).

The binding is also notable because some of the overlaid cartouches to the upper and lower boards are signed 'Umul' Fakhr al-Din', making this a rare example of a signed Indian binding. The style of the tooling and craftsmanship is most comparable to those of Persian Safavid leather bindings (particularly Haldane's examples 108 and 109, Islamic Bookbindings, London 1983), although the execution is provincial, it is an unusual example of an Indian binder attempting to emulate a Persian design.