A journey to search my soul

This is a blog of my personal collections. The purpose of this blog is to educate myself and public in regards to antiquities especially related to religion and calligraphy. I welcome everyone to input their feedback in this blog which they think would be helpful. I do not watermark the photos in this blog so everyone is free to use them as long as they are not used for illegal and unethical reasons. I appreciate if you could notify me if you plan to use any of the photos here. Enjoy browsing!!

Monday, February 29, 2016

Ancient Coin Review 101 : Antique Gold Mas Coin Sultan Abdullah I ( Samudra Pasai Sultanate 1379-1400 CE)



This is a gold coin from Sultan Abdullah era of Samudra Pasai Sultanate. He reigned Samudra Pasai from 1379 CE to 1400 CE.

Looking at the Arabic calligraphy used, its quite tricky as the calligraphy is compressed to fit on the coin face. However it has the resemblance to Thuluth & Sini. Or probably this is how Malay calligraphy was derived.

Obverse : عبدالله ملك الطاهر    
                 Abdallah Malik AtTahir
Reverse : السلطان العادل
                AsSultan Al Adil



Pasai, also known as Samudera and Samudera-Pasai sometimes called Samudera Darussalam was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 15th centuries CE. It was believed the word Samudera derived from Samudra meaning ocean in Sanskrit. According to Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai, it was said Merah Silu saw an ant as big as a cat, he caught it and ate it and he named the place Samandara. King Merah Silu later converted to Islam, known as Malik ul Salih, he was the sultan in year 1267 CE.

Obverse : عبدالله ملك الطاهر    
                 Abdallah Malik AtTahir
Reverse : السلطان العادل
                AsSultan Al Adil
Weight : 0.62 gm
Dim : 14mm
Date : 1379 - 1400 CE
Rarity :
Denom : Mas
Material : Gold
Reference : ٍSP9b type 2 pg 153 ( Jaarboek Voor Munt-en Penningkunde)

Ancient Manuscript Review 183 : Antique Ottoman Era document / Letter ( 18-19th century)




This is a document written in old Turkish. The document was originally folded and sealed. I couldn't figure out what type of document this is. It could be a legal document or a personal ones. It could be from 18-19th century based on similar dated documents that came with it.  It is written in Riqaah script in black.
I don't have much information of this kind of manuscript and its writing tradition. I need to do more research on this manuscript and will update this entry later. I welcome any feedback on this letter.

My other similar document is in below link
Ottoman Letter 01
Ottoman Letter 02

Manuscript Specs

Item : Ottoman document
Content :  Unknown
Dim : 12" x 8.5"
Date : 18-19th century
Copyist : indechiperable
Origin :  Turkey
Calligraphy : Riqaah
Design :
Purchased Price :US

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Ancient Coin Review 100 : Antique Gold Dinar Coin dated 152AH of Caliph Al Mansur Ibn Muhammad (754 - 775 CE)


This is a coin from the rule of Caliph Al Mansur Ibn Muhammad, though the 2nd Abbasid Ruler, he generally regarded as the founder of Abbasid Caliphate. He reigned the Caliphate from 754CE-775CE ( 136-158AH)
The coin is made of pure gold and dated 152 AH.
It is customary of Abbasid Caliphs not to inscribe their names on their coins (similar to Umayyad's) as well as their minting places. The coins would have been minted wherever the Caliph is based. According to Historians, Al Mansur shifted his capital city to Baghdad which is known as Madinat As Salam in 762 CE.
Since this Dinar is dated 152 AH ( 769 CE), hence we could safely assume this coin was minted in Madinat As Salam. In addition to that, there is a Dirham struck in the same year with the mint name Madinat As Salam.



This dinar was inscribed with the first statement of the kalima, “No god but God, unique, He has no associate” in the centre, whereas the margin was inscribed verse 33 of Qur’an Sura 9, “Muhammad is the messenger of God who sent him with guidance and the religion of truth that he might make it supreme over all other religions”On the reverse was inscribed the second statement of the kalima, “Muhammad is the messenger of God”, with the denomination and date in the margin.
This Dinar was inscribed with Kufi calligraphy on both sides.

Coin Specs

Item : Dinar of Caliph Al Mansur Ibn Muhammad
Obv :                                       In Margin
                                        محمد رسول الله ارسله 
                          بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره
                                 على الدين كله

 muhammad rasul allah arsalahu bi’l-huda wa din al-haqq li-yuzhirahu ‘ala al-din kullihi
“Muhammad is the messenger of God who sent him with guidance and the religion of truth that he might make it supreme over all other religions”
Sura 9 (al-Tawba), v. 33 (partial)

                                                 In Centre
                                              لا اله الا
                                             الله وحده
                                            لا شرك له                         
                        la ilah illa / allah wahdahu / la sharik lahu
             "There is no God except Allah. (There is) no partner to him." (Kalima) 

Rev :                                      In Margin 

                                      بسم الله ضرب هذا الدنر  
                                  سنة اثنتين و خمسين و مية
bism allah duriba hadha’l-dinar sana isnin wa khamsin wa mi’a
“in the name of God this dinar was struck the year two and fifty and one hundred”

                                               In Centre
                                        محمد رسول الله                   
                      "Mohammed the messenger of Allah" 

Date : 152 AH (769 CE)
Dim :18 mm
Weight : 3.76gm
Denom : Dinar
Metal : AV  ( Gold)
Mint : Madinat Salam
Rarity : C
Purchased Price : USD

Read on below excerpt about Caliph Al Mansur from the WIKI :

Al-Mansur was born at the home of the 'Abbasid family after their emigration from the Hejaz in 95 AH (714 CE). "His father, Muhammad, was reputedly a great-grandson of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the youngest uncle of Mohammad; his mother, as described in the 14th-century Moroccan historical work Rawd al-Qirtas was one Sallama, "a Berber woman given to his father." He reigned from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH (754 CE – 775 CE). In 762 he founded as new imperial residence and palace city Madinat as-Salam (the city of peace), which became the core of the Imperial capital Baghdad.
During his reign, Islamic literature and scholarship in the Islamic world began to emerge in full force, supported by the Abbasid promotion of scholarly research, best exemplified by the Abbasid-sponsored Translation Movement. It was under al-Mansur that a committee, mostly made up of Syriac-speaking Christians, was set up in Baghdad with the purpose of translating extant Greek works into Arabic. Due to the Abbasid's orientation toward the East, many Persians came to play a crucial role in the Empire, both culturally as well as politically. This was in contrast to the preceding Umayyad era, in which non-Arabs were kept out of these affairs. Shu'ubiya emerged at this time, due to the rising of Iranian autonomy; it was a literary movement among Persians which expressed their belief in the superiority of Persian art and culture, and catalyzed the emergence of Arab-Persian dialogues in the 9th century CE.
In 756, al-Mansur sent over 4,000 Arab mercenaries to assist the Chinese in the An Shi Rebellion against An Lushan; after the war, they remained in China. Al-Mansur was referred to as "A-p'u-ch'a-fo" in the Chinese T'ang Annals.
Al-Mansur died in 775 on his way to Mecca to make hajj. He was buried somewhere along the way in one of hundreds of graves dug in order to hide his body from the Umayyads. He was succeeded by his son, al-Mahdi.
According to a number of sources, Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man (who founded a school of jurisprudence) was imprisoned by al-Mansur. Malik ibn Anas, the founder of another school, was flogged during his rule, but al-Mansur himself did not condone this – in fact, it was his cousin, the governor of Madinah at the time, who ordered it (and was punished for doing so).

Book Review 15 : Misquoting Jesus : The story behind who changed the Bible and why, by Bart D. Ehrman


I purchased this book from Australia in 2009. Another controversial & revealing book from Bart D. Ehrman. Definitely recommend everyone to buy and read it.

Title : Misquoting Jesus
Author : Bart D. Ehrman
ISBN : 9780060859510
Purchased price : AUD26.99


In this book, Bart Ehrman unravels the truth behind mistakes and changes in the Bible especially in the King James Bible.
The author has successfully pointed out evidences of the alleged contamination from the beginning of the original manuscripts were copied till the current copies that are being used by the Christians all over the world. According to him "the original manuscripts were inspired, but the reality is that we don't have the original manuscripts. We don't even have the first copies of the originals, or don't have copies of the copies of the originals, or copies of the copies of the copies of the originals"
The fact is that all the earliest manuscripts that came to our hands where the Christianity is based upon are the not the original manuscripts that were copied by Jesus pbuh disciples. The 4 accepted canonical gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke & John were assumed or attributed vaguely to these 4 disciples but they were not written by them. Christian scholars are very curious what the original words are and try to reconstruct the bible. Whatever the final product is, it will never replace the original manuscript.
During and after Jesus departed from this world, most Christians and Jews were illiterate. The author alleged Paul has used his literacy as highly educated Jews to convince pagans especially in Eastern Mediterranean about Chris's death and other doctrines. Later these letters were tampered by false teachers.
There are a few records in antiquity about discrepancies in Gospel copies.Such reports were made by prominent priest and bishops like Origen, Celsus and Dionysius.
The author also pointed out some chapter and verses were intentionally added to the Gospel such as in Ch 12, 1:1-18, 7:53-8:12 in Gospel John and last 12 verses & 16:9-20 in Gospel Mark.
In 1707, an independent scholar revealed a shocking findings by announcing 30,000 error places in Greek Bible translation from Steplanus.
There were efforts recorded in the past to rectify the Bible content but didn't make it to the final product.
The current Christianity was shaped after the conversion of Emperor Constantine into Christian and made the religion official by decreeing some gospels to be accepted as Canonical which he deemed supported his belief which is still clinging to some sort of Paganism.
Prior to the decree, there were some Christian groups who deemed Jesus as human and not divine. One of this groups is called Ebionites who insisted a Jew must be circumcised and followers of Moses law. They believed Jesus was born of Mary and Joseph and Jesus is adoptive son of God and died on cross.
Unfortunately after this Nicea Decree, all other groups were made illegal and prosecuted. Only one remained which is the official sect of Byzantine Empire, the Proto-orthodox which revered Jesus as Divine.


Thursday, February 25, 2016

Ancient Manuscript Review 182 : Antique Album of Flowers from the Holy Land Jerusalem - Editor N. De Simini ( more than 100 years old)

This is a rare antique album of real pressed flowers collected from 12 important places in Jerusalem.
The flowers and leaves are arranged beautifully on captioned card and have been well preserved for more than 100 years.
The album is cloth bound with covers made of thick polished olive wood and spine of cloth.
The album is supposed to be open from the left cover where the image of Dome of the Rock is engraved.
The editor of this album is N. De Simini from Jerusalem
In contrary to my previous flowers album, this album is arranged with printed chromolithographs showing different scenes in Jerusalem. Each lithograph is described with captions in Spanish, Arabic, English, French, German, Russian, and Greek, on the reverse of each plate is a design composed of small parts of pressed flowers. Most of the tissue guards which separated the lithograph and the flower were missing.
Green cloth spine with titling in English and French,
Flowers from the Holy Land
Fleurs et vues de la Terre Sainte

Each plate is captioned in Spanish, Arabic, English, French, German, Russian, and Greek.
The titles of the plates are :
1) Jerusalem from the Mount Olives
2) View of the Mount of Zion
3) Jaffa Gate
4) Pulpit of Omar
5) Valley of Jehosaphat
6) Garden of Gethsemane
7) Mount of Olives
8) Rachel's tomb
9) Christmas day in Bethlehem
10) Jericho General View
11) The River Jordan
12) Tiberias from the lake

Album measures 3 1/2 x 5  inches and is in excellent condition with only light surface wear .
The last plate doesn't come with pressed flowers. I am not sure if it was intentional or the pressed floweres were missing.
Check my other flowers album below :
Flowers Album Jerusalem
























Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Antique Artifact Review 66 : Antique Malay Muslim Brass Handwash from Malaysia ( 19th Century)


This is an old traditional hand wash made from brass originated from Malaysia. Muslim Malays in Malaysia traditionally eat food using their right hands. The pot is filled with water and pour over right hand and the washing water will be contained inside the brass basin.
Bought this pot from Kuala Lumpur and estimated from 19th Century.

Dim : 300mm
Date : 19th Century CE
Material : Brass
Origin : Malaysia

Ancient Artifact Review 65 : Antique Khaliji Gulf Arabic Islamic Dallah Coffee Pot Jug Ewer 19th Century




This is an old brass coffee-pot or called Dallah in Arabic.It has an hourglass shape with a curved handle and integrated dome-shaped lid with a finial and a beak-like spout.
Maker's mark stamped on one side though I couldn't make out what it is.
This is a typical Khaliji ( Gulf) type of Dallah. Undated but probably from 19th Century.
In the past, having a dallah in the house is a compulsory. If there is no coffee for guests it was shameful.
This is a simple dallah called chabsa whereas the elaborated one is called Gurayshia.

Dim : 220mm height
Date : 19th Century
Material : Brass
Origin : Arabic Gulf Countries

Friday, February 19, 2016

Antique Manuscript Review 181 : Antique Somalia Quran in a leather box ( 18th Century)

These are 7 volumes of full Quran from Somalia!! What make Quran set interesting is that it has its own box made of leather. The opening chapter is beautifully decorated with local tribal motifs.

The set was originally for Waqf and later owned by Mualim Ahmad Raml.

I still couldn't figure what type of script written. Is it a Sudani script ( from a Maghribi Script) or is it a twisted form of Naskh script. I need to do more research.It is a complete Quran without any missing page. All books are bounded with embossed leather covers.

 

This Quran is undated however bsed on my other Somalia Quran, I would safely estimated it from 18th Century..
Check my other Somalia Qurans on below links :
Somali Quran (small)
Somali Quran (small)
Somali Quran ( big)

Manuscript Specs

Item : A Somalian complete Quran in 7 books with a leather box
Content : Quran written in Naskh ( or Sudani) with vowel & diacritical signs.The world " Allah" in red. 11 lines per page
Dim : 6.5" x 4.5" x 1" ( 7 books in total)
Date : undated but estimated 18th Century
Copyist : anonymous
Origin : Somalia
Calligraphy : twisted Naskh or Sudani
Design : leather.
Purchased Price :USD

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Ancient Coin Review 99 : Antique Gold Mas Coin Sultan Abdullah II ( Samudra Pasai Sultanate 1475-1513 CE)

This is a gold coin from Sultan Abdullah era of Samudra Pasai Sultanate. He reigned Samudra Pasai from 1475 CE to 1513 CE.






Looking at the Arabic calligraphy used, its quite tricky as the calligraphy is compressed to fit on the coin face. However it has the resemblance to Thuluth & Sini. Or probably this is how Malay calligraphy was derived.The letter ع in word عبدالله is written closed.

Obverse : عبدالله ملك الطاهر    
                 Abdallah Malik AtTahir
Reverse : السلطان العادل
                AsSultan Al Adil




Pasai, also known as Samudera and Samudera-Pasai sometimes called Samudera Darussalam was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 15th centuries CE. It was believed the word Samudera derived from Samudra meaning ocean in Sanskrit. According to Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai, it was said Merah Silu saw an ant as big as a cat, he caught it and ate it and he named the place Samandara. King Merah Silu later converted to Islam, known as Malik ul Salih, he was the sultan in year 1267 CE.

Obverse : عبدالله ملك الطاهر    
                 Abdallah Malik AtTahir
Reverse : السلطان العادل
                AsSultan Al Adil
Weight : 0.60 gm
Dim : 14mm
Date : 1475 - 1513 CE
Rarity :
Denom : Mas
Material : Gold
Reference : ٍSP18a type 2 pg 158 ( Jaarboek Voor Munt-en Penningkunde)

Monday, February 15, 2016

Ancient Coin Review 98 : Antique Gold Mas Coin Sultan Addalah ( Samudra Pasai Sultanate 1412-1435 CE)

 This is a gold coin from Sultan Abdullah era of Samudra Pasai Sultanate. There is an error in the name inscribed on this coin. It was written Addallah instead of Abdullah. Historians has argued that this error is intentional as this coin is quite common.




Looking at the Arabic calligraphy used, its quite tricky as the calligraphy is compressed to fit on the coin face. However it has the resemblance to Thuluth & Sini. Or probably this is how Malay calligraphy was derived. There is an error in the name of عبدالله was written as عدالله  . Some historians thought it was intentionally done as the coin is quite common. Another error is the spelling of ملك was written as مك .
Obverse : عدالله مك الطاهر    
                 Addalah Malik AtTahir
Reverse : السلطان العادل
                AsSultan Al Adil



Pasai, also known as Samudera and Samudera-Pasai sometimes called Samudera Darussalam was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 15th centuries CE. It was believed the word Samudera derived from Samudra meaning ocean in Sanskrit. According to Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai, it was said Merah Silu saw an ant as big as a cat, he caught it and ate it and he named the place Samandara. King Merah Silu later converted to Islam, known as Malik ul Salih, he was the sultan in year 1267 CE.

Obverse : عدالله مك الطاهر    
                 Addalah Malik AtTahir
Reverse : السلطان العادل
                AsSultan Al Adil
Weight : 0.60 gm
Dim : 14mm
Date : 1412 - 1435 CE
Rarity :Common
Denom : Mas
Material : Gold
Reference : ٍSP14 type 2 pg 142 ( Jaarboek Voor Munt-en Penningkunde)

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Ancient Artifact Review 64 : Antique Ottoman Qalamdan / Pen Case / Inkwell ( Divit) dated 1950 CE


This is an old Ottoman Qalamdan / Divit or Pen case which measures  8" long with an inkwell at one end. It is beautifully decorated with floral motives. Made of brass and dated. Even though the date is not clear but I could say its 1950 CE based on similar Qalamdan which I have.
This Qalamdan is similar to the one I have in this link
1950 Ottoman Qalamdan

Compare with another bigger Ottoman Divit & a pen case from Iran Qajaf era
Giant Ottoman Divit
Qajar Qalamdan


Dim : 8in
Date : 1950 CE
Material : Brass
Origin : Turkey