Thursday, January 22, 2015

Ancient Manuscript Review 153 : Antique Malay Quran Manuscript 18th Century





 
This is a beautifully written Quran manuscript originated from South East Asia. This is a complete Quran without any missing pages. This manuscript is written in Malay-Naskh calligraphy in black ink on Dutch beige paper 15 lines to a page. Brown leather binding beautifully embossed in a floral design.Some pages are loose, water stained and torn with fraying edges.All headings are written in red with every “ ayaah” or verses are separated by small red circle.  
 
The borders of the pages are ruled with red ( inset) and black ( outset).About 200+ leaves ( 400+ pages). This Quran is undated but we estimated it from 18th century based from the watermark on most of the pages. The watermark bears the words Concordia Res Parvae Crescunt ( Through concord little things grow) and a crowned lion, a typical theme used by VOC Dutch ( 1603-1800CE) during occupation in Indonesia. I acquired this manuscript from a friend in Indonesia in 2014.

Manuscript Specs
Item : Antique Malay Quran
Manuscript Content : Quran
Dim : 33 cm x 21 cm x 3 cm
Date : 18th century
Copyist : anonymous
Origin : South East Asia
Calligraphy : Malay - Naskh
Design : Written in Malay-Naskh scripts in red & black
Purchased Price :US

2 comments:

  1. The paper with watermark CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT was made after 1846 by van der Ley in Holland.

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    Replies
    1. Yes its true, its 19th century paper not 18th century paper

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