Koran

1875 civarı

A distinctive feature of this Koran is the ayet ber-kenar arrangement of the verses, which was often preferred for those copied in the Balkans, by which every verse begins and ends on the same page. At the end of the book is the hatim prayer and colophon (ff. 307r-311v). In the colophon the calligrapher has written, ‘My Lord God accept my prayer. Forgive me, my mother, my father and all Muslims on the Day of Judgment. O God look kindly upon us in this world and the next. Protect us from the torment of fire. God sent the Prophet Muhammad to us as a reward. May prayers and salutations be upon the highest of all prophets, his family and disciples. God has created a prophet above all other people, of a perfection that minds cannot comprehend, and possessor of all that is most excellent, free of all impurity. May salutations be upon the prophets sent by God. Thanks be to God, lord of the peoples. This was copied by es-Seyyid el-Hac Ahmed Arif ’. At each end of the colophon lines is a stem with a hatayi flower on a gold ground. These flowers on the left and right hand sides of the page are arranged symmetrically. In the centre of the largest flower is written ‘the illuminator Derviş’ (f. 311v). The opening spread of the Koran with the Fatiha surah and first four verses of the Bakara surah is illuminated. Inside the broad border are small flowers and buds on a single stem on a pale lapis blue ground and cartouches with rumi motifs and bouquets of pink, yellow and red flowers on a gold ground. The writing is encircled by a narrow border decorated with large pink leaves and small blue and yellow flowers. The surah headings are written in rıka script in a calligraphic composition (istif) in which the letters are written one above the other on a gold ground, and the verse stops are illuminated. The marginal rosettes somewhat resemble tree of life motifs, and inside each is written the name of the points they mark (aşr for each ten verses, hizb for each five pages, and secde for the places where worshippers prostrate themselves in prayer). The chestnut coloured leather covers of the binding with flap are decorated with a medallion with pendants and cornerpieces filled with rumi scrollwork painted in gold on a blue ground. The covers are original, but the marbled paper lining the doublures was added during repairs carried out in the 20th century.