Islamic and Indian art from a Private Collection in Rome and other provenances. In partnership with BAIAS Arte.

Double frontispiece (sarlaw) of Koran
Kashmir, 18th century
Text in Arabic on paper, writing box approx. 120 x 60 mm. Text in Naskh calligraphy on single column of 5 lines to the page at the front and 13 at the back written in black ink and titles in blue with gilt spacing. Fine colourful floral illumination on a blue and gold background. The text contains the beginning of Sura 19.
Good condition.
152 x 93 mm

Folio from Yusef and Zoleykha by Jami Northern
India, 17th century
Persian text on paper, writing box 175 x 90 mm containing 14 lines of text on verso and 12 on recto with title added, arranged on double column bordered by gilt fillet. Text in nasta'liq calligraphy in black ink and title in blue. The decoration includes a thin border to the script mirror containing gilt racemes on a blue background and the page margins painted with flowering multicolored branches, birds and clouds on the front and lobed reserves between floral sprays on the reverse.
Good condition, faded areas in the border.
296 x 195 mm

Folio from Khosrow and Shirin by Nizami
Persia, second half 16th century
Persian text on paper, writing box approximately 200 x 130 mm bordered by gold and blue thread and containing 21 lines of text on both sides, written in nasta'liq calligraphy in black ink with title in red. Decorated with a depiction of the painter Shapur handing Khorsow's portrait to Shirin.
Good condition.
280 x 180 mm

Printed newspaper bifolium
Egypt, dated 1247 AH (1831 AD)
35 X 28,8 cm

Three pages from a Mamluk Qur'an
Egypt or Syria, 14th century
Arabic text on paper arranged in a single column, 5 lines to the page. Text in broad nashki calligraphywritten with black ink. The decoration includes ayat separators in the form of gilded and red dotted rosettes. Section margins in gilded decoration within hanging cartouches. The text reads a part of Surah 7 Al-A'raf.
20.8 X 15.5 cm

The Holy Bible in Arabic Printed book
London, William Watts, 1857 AD
Arabic translation of the Holy Bible, Old and New Testament totalling 1404 pages, complete. Coeval leather binding, gold title to the spine.Printed after the Rome 1671 edition for the Eastern Church. One of the first modern translations into Arabic was at the initiative of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Around 1846, the Society ordered this work from the Orientalist Samuel Lee (1783-1852). The Rev. Dr. Lee invited the Lebanese scholar Ahmad Faris Shidyaq to Cambridge to participate in the translation. The translation of the Bible was published in 1857, after Samuel Lee's death, by his student and friend Professor Thomas Jarrett. This translation is still considered one of the best Arabic translations of the Bible. Bibliography: Darlow & Moulé 1684.

Miscellaneous manuscript with medical and philosophical subject
Persia, late 18th - early 19th century
Composto da 174 Consisting of 174 papers (25 of which not contemporary), Persian text in nastaliq script in black and red ink on a single column of 25 lines; first pages on three columns.Sheet dimensions 205 x 130 mm. Writing box 170 x 90 mm.Contemporary leather binding with gold decoration, flap missing.carte (25 delle quali non coeve), testo in persiano in calligrafia nastaliq in inchiostro nero e rosso su singola colonna di 25 righe; le prime pagine su tre colonne.

Giuseppe Signorini (1857-1932) Orientalist drawing depicting the hour of prayer
Ink on paper.
Signed lower right.
H. 40 X 30 cm

Two illustrated fragments from a Qajar Shahnameh
Persia, 19th century
Portions of the folio, damaged and recomposed, with two illustrations, one full-page, from the famous Book of Kings. Text in nasta'liq calligraphy penned in black ink and arranged in four columns bordered by red fillet.
Provenance: Private collection Tuscany
33 X 20.5 cm ca. ciascun foglio

Two pages illustrated from a dispersed Shahnameh
Northern India, Kashmir, 19th century
Each folio with central illustration featuring the hero of the Book of Kings, Rustam. Persian text on paper, 10 lines to the page at the front and 27 on the reverse, written in black ink in nasta'liq script and arranged in four columns bordered by gilt fillet.
Provenance: Private collection Tuscany.

Two Persian miniature paintings
Iran, first half 20th century
One depicting a couple drinking wine in a garden, close to a cypress tree. Illustration within double frame, the larger border illuminated with interlaced palmettes. The other depicting a portrait of a young man against a monochrome background, in the manner of Reza Abbasi. Both mounted on cardboard.
Provenance: Private collection Tuscany
29.5 X 21 cm (la più grande, misure complessive di cartoncino)

Lot of 6 folios with applied illustrations
Persia and Northern India, 19th century and later
A group of five folios from a Persian Qur'an manumitted with illustrations from an Indian context. The Qur'an written in naskh script, Arabic text on paper, 11 lines to the page, ayat separators in the form of gilt rosettes, red diacritics, margin notes in Persian. Illuminated border with gilt plant sprays. Almost all the illustrations applied above the text are Indian, including a Krishna Srinathji and a man in Company School style.The last sheet from a Persian poetic manuscript, tampered with an illustration of a funeral lamentation. Persian text on paper, written in nasta'liq calligraphy and arranged in two offset columns. Stenciled floral illumination in the border.
Provenance: Private collection Tuscany
23.5 X 13.3 cm la più grande

Portrait of a woman Qajar
Iran, 19th century
Portrait of a noblewoman standing against a colourless background. Marbled paper border and mounted on cardboard. Stamp, probably belonging to the Persian chancellor, on the right of the portrait.
Provenance: Private collection Tuscany.
19.6 X 13.4 cm (con cartoncino: 25 X 20 cm)

Three illustrated folios from Persian poetic manuscripts
Persia, probably Shiraz, 17th-18th century
decorated and inscribed on both sides in nasta'liq script written in black ink and arranged in four columns bordered by gilt fillet. The larger folio illustrated with a schoolmaster giving a lesson to five pupils in a garden, the other decorated with a man taming a lion among onlookers.
Provenance: Private collection Tuscany.
27 X 15 cm ca. (the largest)

Three illustrated folios from a Shahnameh
Kashmir, 19th century
Ink and colours on paper, each page contains an illustration and four to six lines of Persian text penned in black ink and arranged in two columns bordered by red thread.
10 X H. 20 cm (frame: 25.5 X h. 35.5 cm )

Three illustrated folios from a Shahnameh
Kashmir, 19th century
Ink and colours on paper, each page contains an illustration and four to six lines of Persian text penned in black ink and arranged in two columns bordered by red thread.
10 X H. 20 cm (frame: 25.5 X H. 35.5 cm )

Group of three Persian pen holders (Qalamdam) in papier maché
Qajar Iran, 19th century
With sliding tray, one decorated with a figurative motif, one with arabesques within lobed medallions and one with a repeated plant motif on an ochre background.
L. 23 cm the largest

Persian painting depicting a Sufi and a girl
Iran, 20th century
Depicting a Sufi elder comforting a woman near a tomb. Poetic inscription in Nasta'liq calligraphy in the inner frame.
H. 21 X l. 15.5 (frame: 34 X 23.5 cm)

Trade document on blank paper
Persia or Azerbaijan, 19th century
Turk Azerbaijani text on paper, consisting of 9 lines of text written in black ink in cursive diwan.Persian stamp in upper right corner inscribed with the name of Muhammad Ali Abd. Dated 43 (possibly 1243 AH equal to 1827 AD solar calendar).
H. 38.2 X 22.2 cm

Group of six wooden panels painted with arabesques
North Africa or Near East, 19th century
Group of decorative beams with front painted with interlaced yellow, red and green palmettes.
77,5 X 20 cm (the largest)

Group of three drawings
India, 19th-20th century
Including:a drawing of boar hunting; Durga and a pair of elephants and mahouts, signed lower right. Provenance: Venetian private collection.
H 22 X L. 34 cm (the largest)

Group of three drawings
India, 19th - 20th century
Including: a drawing of Shiva; a portrait of Akbar in profile; a drawing of an elephant and a woman in profile.
Provenance: Venetian private collection.
H. 21 X L. 16,2 cm (the largest)

Group of three drawings
India, 19th - 20th century
Including: A boar hunting; a drawing of Krishna with gopies (signed lower right); a portrait of a woman in profile, Kishengarh.
Provenance: Venetian private collection.
H. 22 X L. 16 cm (the largest)

Group of three drawings
India, 19th - 20th century
Including: a sketch depicting a royal procession; a running buffalo and a ram.
Provenance: Venetian private collection.
H. 27 X L. 47,5 cm (the largest)