Ancient Manuscript Review 93 : Antique Etiopian Quran ( 18-19th Century)

 

 

These are beautifully written Quran manuscripts in juz form originated from Etiopia. Its believed to have been written in 18-19th century. This manuscript is written in Sudanese type calligraphy in black ink on western paper 11 lines to a page. I still need to do more research about this type of calligraphy. It looks in between Sudani & Somali calligraphy but definitely stemmed from Maghribi style. Brown leather binding beautifully embossed in a middle with a flap. The borders of the pages are ruled with double line red .

The first manuscript which contains the opening Surah Al Fatihah has the first 2 pages beautifully decorated.

There are supposed to have 30 manuscripts ( 30 juzs) for the complete Quran. However I only managed to acquire 23 manuscripts out of 30 as the rest were sold to others by the original owner. This is a very rare acquisition because we dont see many Etiopian Quran in the market or in international hands. I am blessed to have acquired these manuscripts.

Manuscript Specs

Item : Antique Etiopia Quran
Manuscript Content : 21 juzu of Quran
Dim : 16 cm x 12.5 cm x 2 cm
Date : 18-19th century
Copyist : anonymous
Origin : Etiopia
Calligraphy : Sudani??
Design : Written in Sudani scripts in black
Purchased Price :US