The rapid ascent of the Middle East in the art market is obvious, as seen with the increase in investment from the Middle East into auction houses and the promotion of significant new sales in the region. However, what about art from the region and the cultures that inhabited it over the thousands of years of rich history?
On 30 April, Sotheby’s London will be presenting their Arts of the Islamic World & India sale, which will feature various books, arts, and antiquities from this part of the world. Featuring a total of 181 lots, they represent a vast spread of cultures, periods, and art forms tied together by a vast geographical linkage.
In keeping with a distinct trend of religious texts performing well at auctions these past two years, four out of five of the top lots are all related to the Quran. This includes the top lot, a large Mamluk Quran from the late 1470s, estimated between £300,000-500,000 (around US$397,000-662,000).
Other pieces that graced the top lot include a bronze candlestick with touches of gold and silver placed into it. An extremely rare Raqqa ware tile from the first half of the 13th century, a wood and bone box from when Muslims ruled parts of Spain, and a brass astrolabe from Morocco.
Lot 546 | Copied by Muhammad Abu al-Fadl ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-A’raj | A large illuminated Mamluk Qur’an
Dated 882 AH/1477-1478 AD
Text Panel: 31.5 x 22.2 cm | Leaf: 39 x 27.8 cm
Provenance:
- Private collection, UK, since the 1960s
Estimate: £300,000-500,000 (around US$397,000-662,000)
The Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517) was a vast empire that, at its peak, ruled from what is now southern Turkey through modern-day Egypt. In addition to their geopolitical and historical importance, the Mamluks were also known for their culture and arts, especially decorative arts such as glasswork, textiles, and woodwork, all of which became famed around the Mediterranean region.
However, perhaps the most common and praised within Mamluk art and culture was the development of decorative manuscripts, especially the Quran. These highly intricate Qurans were mainly produced in Cairo, Damascus, and Aleppo and had elaborate illumination, a technique applied to manuscripts that involved decorations, flourishes, and illustrations around the text. In Medieval Europe, these were most commonly used for important government and religious texts.
These were often grand and special works dominated by star-shaped or hexagonal geometric motifs. They often contained gilded scrollwork and wide margins, with some being monumental in size, with some being 105 cm in height.
This specific lot has a variety of decorative elements, and elements of the text are written in Naskh, an early form of Islamic calligraphy, while others are written in Thuluth, a form of calligraphy that was commonly seen as a decoration on mosques. These components can be found written in pages that also have illuminated text that has been heavily decorated with gold, red, and blue colors, many of which are organized into patterns that the words blend into.
The illumination around the text of the Quran
What sets this lot apart from other Qurans is its origin. Muhammad Abu al-Fadl ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-A’raj lived in the Mamluk Empire and was a scribe and copyist who worked for Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri (r. 1501-16). Many of the scribe’s works would go on to be highly praised in the region, with nine of his manuscripts being found in the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, which was originally the palace of the Ottoman Sultans.
The Sultan was a key patron of the arts who not just appreciated them but harnessed them as a political tool to improve his image in the public and curry favor and reward loyal allies. He commissioned public buildings and directed decorators to produce traditional arts and objects to display in these places. He also oversaw the repair and restoration of Islam’s two holy cities of Mecca and Medina when the Mamluks ruled over the region.
Qurans, such as this one, were also commonly commissioned by Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri. Many of these were extremely large in scale, and some have also hit the auction floor in recent years. This includes a Quran made by the scribe Tanam al-Najmi in 1489 and sold by Christie’s London on 2 May 2019 for around £3.7 million (around US$4.9 million), after being estimated as the exact same as this lot currently on offer and having similar characteristics.
Lot 545 | A gold and silver-inlaid bronze candlestick
Circa 13th century
Height: 17.8 cm | Height with Shaft: 37.4 cm
Provenance:
- Ex-collection Angelika Padilla Santander (b.1941), by inheritance
- Acquired by the current owner from the above in London, 5 February 1996
Estimate: £300,000-500,000 (around US$397,000-662,000)
Scholars have noted that this candlestick most likely originated from Iraq or Eastern Anatolia, with its properties highly resembling characteristics that fall in line with work from that region. In particular, the metal is shaped and worked to create specific characteristics and shapes that are instantly attributable to that region, in particular, specific geometric shapes and designs.
For example, the flat shoulder of the candlestick, the concave body, and the sockets are highly specific to this region, especially when combined with the patterns on the candlestick themselves, which are largely geometric and display an extraordinary amount of attention to the details of the candlestick and the components that make up its main body, in addition to arabesque motifs, a kind of pattern commonly found in Islamic art that takes up a rhythmic style of patterning when used.
Also visible on the body of the candlestick is a court scene that is interwoven between various shapes, including men on horses. This didn’t really exist in other major metalworking centers of the era, such as Iran, and is unique to Anatolia. However, Persian influence as well as artistic inspiration from Syria may point to other motifs seen on this candlestick as well, meaning that it was drawn from Anatolia’s two neighboring regions.
Some of the intricate patterns on the top of the candlestick base, including a double-headed eagle motif in the middle
The full length of the candlestick, with its shaft and visible on the base, is some of the court scene with the horses and their riders
This can be considered a highly luxurious object to own for the time. They were intended to be used in royal court settings, and this can be inferred through the double-headed eagle motif on the base of the candlestick. From the 1100s to the 1200s, this was a common royal symbol of princes in what is now Turkey and Northern Syria.
This specific candlestick has been well preserved, with its patterns and details being clearly visible across it, making it comparable to other lots in the past, including one from Armenia that sold for around £107,000 (around US$225,000) back in April of 2023 and exhibited a much richer, more bronze-like color.
Lot 528 | A rare and monumental Raqqa Tile
Circa First half of the 13th century
50.4 x 39.5 cm
Provenance:
- Mansour Gallery, London, March 1973
- Acquired from the above by Daniel Katz, London, 1973-2011
- Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic World Evening Sale, 4 October 2011, lot 16
- Private Collection 2011-present
Estimate: £200,000-300,000 (around US$264,000-397,000)
Raqqa, located in Northern Syria, was considered a major hub of the arts, ceramics, and pottery during the Ayyubid dynasty (1171-1260 AD), so prolific was art from the city that “Raqqa ware” has become a term used to define a whole style and economy that surrounded the ceramics from the region. They were incredibly popular among European buyers come the 1800s, and the style of work spread rapidly throughout the Middle East as far as Egypt.
Raqqa ware is produced using stonepaste, where ground-up glass is added to clay. It was then fired and glazed with a variety of stains, either of a turquoise, blue, or brownish color. Occasionally, they would be engraved before firing. However, what makes this lot interesting is that it is a Raqqa ware tile. This is odd because Raqqa ware was most normally found for daily objects such as kitchenware or storage, making this piece somewhat of an anomaly.
While tiles with inscriptive texts aren’t rare, those that came from Raqqa are, as compared to their contemporaries, such as the Kashan ceramics hub in Iran. The pottery makers in Raqqa weren’t known to produce tiles. Instead, to find tiles of a similar nature and quality, one needs to look further east towards Central Asia, where large tiles with this kind of calligraphy written on them have been found in areas such as modern-day Turkmenistan.
Most likely, this tile would’ve been made especially for a commissioned building; however, it is unknown for whom or when, as the building, along with the records, would’ve most likely been lost when Raqqa was razed to the ground by the Mongols in 1260. As such, it remains the sole sample of a tile of this nature in the world.
Lot 512 | A Nasrid wood and bone-inlaid pyxis
Cira 15th/14th century
Height: 15.9 cm | Width: 16 cm
Provenance:
- Formerly in a Flemish private collection, first half 20th century
Estimate: £200,000-300,000 (around US$264,000-397,000)
During the early 700s, Muslims conquered the Iberian Peninsula and would rule parts of the region up until 1492. This led to the introduction of Muslim culture across the region, including in the arts. This includes this pyxis, a type of vessel common in the wider Greek classical world, but in this one, elements of Islamic art.
This piece came from a wider network of pieces from Andalusian woodworking, a southern region in Spain, and the last to be under Muslim rule. This style of woodworking, which defines this piece's exterior, is known in Arabic as tarsi, which later became the Spanish word taracea and translates into “to study” or “to inlay.” Similar works from this period held in museums such as the Museo de la Alhambra in Granada allow this work to be dated to around the 1300s or 1400s.
Their usage of wood can easily recognize this style of pyxis to frame and display these colorful, decorated bones, usually dyed bright colors like blue or green. This was done so that geometrical patterns would overlay on the sides of the pyxis. This specific has also been decorated with copper hinges, a lock plate, and suspension loops. Its inlay pattern identifies it as one of two groups of pyxis separated by the usage of plaque or woodwork, with the former being more common.
This pyxis belongs to the smaller group of only two other specimens. One is in the previously mentioned Museo de la Alhambra, while another was sold by Christie’s London in October 2020 as part of their Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets sale. It went for £922,500 (around US$1.2 million), beating its low estimate by over four times.
Lot 508 | Abu Bakr ibn Yusuf | Almohad brass astrolabe mater and plates
Dated 615 AH/1218-1219 AD
Height Including Shackle: 12.1 cm | Diameter: 7.5 cm
Provenance:
- Ex-collection Dominique Jean, Baron Larrey (1766-1842), France
Estimate: £100,000-150,000 (around US$132,000-198,000)
Before the development of the compass, map, clock, or any other device of that nature, there was the astrolabe. Developed during the Islamic Golden Age and used throughout the Middle East and Europe up until the Age of Discovery, this was an important device that people used to determine their position and time using the stars and planets. While other tools overtook their purpose, their production carried on well into the 19th century by dedicated craftsmen. One of these was Abu Bakr ibn Yusuf, a Moroccan whose works were highly prized for their beauty.
Morocco was one of the centers of astrolabe production, with Abu Bakr ibn Yusuf being one of the most prominent producers. He is recorded to have made at least eight astrolabes in total, four of which are in museums around the world, and another was sold by Sotheby’s in April 2007, which was specifically made for a prince of the Almohad dynasty that ruled much of Northern Africa and Southern Iberia for over a hundred years.
Abu Bakr ibn Yusuf’s astrolabes, like all others, contain certain characteristics unique to the artist. For example, large inscriptions in Andalusi are legible despite their density of information. This contrasts with other astrolabe makers, who were more sparing with the amount of text they were willing to add to them.
Abu Bakr ibn Yusuf’s work was also highly influential, with the usage of Andalusi going on to influence Moroccan astrolabe making up until the 18th century. Additionally, elements of his work and traits found their way to Renaissance Italy, as a 15th-century astrolabe found in Urbino, Italy, shows a clear relation to those made by Abu Bakr ibn Yusuf. Works from this region in Italy then went on to influence astrolabe production in Germany.
Other Highlighted Lots:
Lot 520 | Umar al-Aqta | A line from the 'Baysunghur Qur'an
Circa 1400
Unframed: 19.1 x 95.6 cm | Framed: 38 x 115 cm
Estimate: £300,000-500,000 (around US$397,000-662,000)
Lot 504 | An early fragmentary Qur'an leaf in Hijazi script on vellum
Circa second half of the 7th century AD
28.1 x 24.8 cm
Estimate: £250,000-350,000 (around US$331,000-463,000)
Lot 532 | An early bound Qur’an section in Kufic script
Circa 700-750 AD
11 x 17.5 cm
Provenance:
- Ex-private collection, Germany, acquired in 1987
Estimate: £250,000-300,000 (around US$331,000-397,000)
Lot 555 | Jalal ibn Muhammad Bakalinjar al-Daylami | A finely illuminated Qur'an
Circa mid-16th century
Text Panel: 20 x 11.2 cm | Leaf: 30 x 20.6 cm
Provenance:
- Private collection, UK, since 1960s
Estimate: £250,000-300,000 (around US$331,000-397,000)
Lot 547 | A rare and important Mamluk steel sword dedicated to Sultan Qaytbay
Crica last quarter 15th century
85.4 cm
Provenance:
- Ex-collection David Smith (d.2009), Kent, 2000s
Estimate: £200,000-300,000 (around US$264,000-397,000)
Auction Details:
Auction House: Sotheby's London
Sale: Arts of the Islamic World & India
Date and Time: 29 April 2025 | 11:00 am (Local London Time)
Number of Lots: 183