A handwritten Qur'an sheet in Hijazi script

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

On October 8 in London, Sotheby's sells at lot 3 a sheet of the Qur'an dating from the first decades after the Hegira.

Sotheby's said that this document is in script of the Hijaz region of the Arabian Peninsula. This area includes the holy cities of Medina and Mecca.

The catalog, as always with Sotheby's, gives much information, including the reference of the sura, the dimensions of this vellum sheet: 37.5 x 27.5 cm, and the number of lines: 23 on recto and 21 on verso. The photo shows much damage in its lower side.

Sotheby's information reinforces the rarity of such an object by giving a short list of past sheets having been auctioned in recent years by its competitors.

So "invited" by Sotheby's, we will make a short visit in the archives of Christie's. Two different sheets of a same Qur'an, of same time and almost same size as that of Sotheby's but in much better condition, were sold in London several years apart. On 1 May 2001, Christie's sold the first one at 160 K£ including fees. On 8 April 2008, another sheet was estimated 100K£ ... and then sold £ 2.5 million including fees.

Sotheby's realized that the market had changed, or even that a new market has arisen for such early Islamic antiquities. This sheet is included in a selection of their highlights of future sales in Europe from September to December.

At 400 K£, the estimate of Sotheby's does not mean much because it is the first lot to appear since the surprise created by the sale of Christie's. What will the buyers decide for this new sheet, which unfortunately is in much poorer condition?

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

This lot was certainly remarkable, but its poor condition has certainly played against it. In these circumstances, we can congratulate Sotheby's to have very well focused the price: 480 K £ including fees.