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William Cattermole (Norwich School), pencil drawing of Bressingham church, 1840, signed and with manuscript pen and ink title by artist to mount, drawing approx size 27.5 x 44cm

William Cattermole (Norwich School), pencil drawing 'The White Hart Inn Scole', 1846, manuscript pen and ink titled and signed by artist to mount, drawing approx 16 x 26cm, framed and glazed, whole approx 38 x 48cm

A folder containing 7 Diss sale particulars 1894-1954, all TW Gaze auctioneers; plus Common Pleas manuscript document Diss 1868; plus a packet containing approx 10 early-mid 20th Centurysale particulars Old Buckenham, Fersfield etc (2)

A late 19th Century photograph album, containing 37 mounted topographical and architectural albumen views of Italy, including Pisa, Baptistry of St. John, and Leaning tower (2); Florence, including Ponte alle Grazie, Pitti Palace, Duomo, general view of city, plus 7 others (11); Siena Duomo; Rome, including Forum, Vatican Gallery, view from Pincio, Temple Vesta, house and bridgeof Caligula, Caesar's Palace, etc (9); Bay of Naples; Sorrento; several Pompeii and Venice etc, each with contemporary manuscript pen and ink captions beneath photos to card leaves, oblong 4to, original black leather gilt (slightly scuffed and worn), inner dentelles gilt, all edges gilt, by PArkins & Gotto, Oxford Street

Robert Anderson (edited): 'The Works of the British Poets. With Prefaces, Biographical and Critical', London & Edinburgh, 1793-1795, volumes 1-12, each volume with added engraved title page, neat late 19th Century manuscript ownership signatures and notes to first blanks of several volumes, content includes Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton etc etc, contemporary calf gilt (worn), black morocco gilt title labels (12)

Jane Austen: 'Works - Sense & Sensibility; Pride and Prejudice; Mansfield Park; Emma; Northanger Abbey & Persuasion', illustrated Hugh Thomson (Pride & Prejudice illustrated C.E. Brock), Macmillan, 1908-1914, reprints, 5 volumes, contemporary half calf gilt (worn), plus 'Love & Freindship and other Early Works, now First Printed from the Original MS. by Jane Austen', Chatto & Windus, 1922, 1st edition, original quarter cloth, decorative paper covered boards gilt, dust wrapper, and 'Sanditon: Fragment of a Novel, written by Jane Austen, January - March 1817, now first printed from the Manuscript.', Ocford, 1925, 1st edition, original cloth backed boards, printed paper label to spine (7)

A 19th century pewter baluster flagon, elaborately cast in relief with parrots in reserves of extensive flowers and fecund foliage, conforming hinged domed cover centred by a spherical finial and enclosing a ceramic liner, Renaissance mask spout, scroll handle with lotus and acanthus, circular plinth foot, 35cm high, Rogers & Co., patent dated 1868Provenance: '[...] This is the old Water Beaker for using in [Orthodox] Greek Churches - this one came from Odessa [then the Russian Empire, now Ukraine] [...]', 20th century manuscript note.

An unusual George III mahogany box, hinged cover, the front and side with removable sliding panels, the inside with a list of songs (?) in ink manuscript, bracket feet, 27cm wide

Wunderkammer - an antiquary's table-top 'museum' of archaeological finds, the diorama enclosing a Roman iridescent glass phial and a Roman terracotta oil lamp, both from Cyprus; mosaic pavement, presumably Roman tesserae, the Thames, off London Bridge; a Stone Age axe head, Vale of Belvoir; three clay pipes, Newark; further finds from Newark Castle, including a verdigris patinated heraldic shield, musket balls, coins; a fossil; buckles; horse brass; etc., manuscript collector's labels, the case 39cm wide

Natural History - a 'herbarium' arrangement of pressed and mounted seaweed specimens, each annotated in hand manuscript, 35.5cm x 55.5cm overall, maple frame

Natural History - a 'herbarium' arrangement of seaweed samples, each annotated in ink manuscript, 24cm x 33.5cm

Natural History - Conchology, a collection of seashells, including conch, murex, cones, scallops, cowries, etc., various forms, sizes and hues, boxed and loose, manuscript collector's label, [collection]

Antiquities - a 10th century East Persian terracotta flared bowl, painted and decorated in the Islamic taste with a star-shaped centre, the upswept sides with borders of stylized foliage below a sgraffito band, the whole in tones of green, yellow, and black, curled rim, the exterior quite plain, 10cm high, 24cm diam, c. 950 to 1000 ADProvenance: 1) Colonel Sir Eldred Hitchcock (1887-1959), manuscript label to base; 2) presumably his sale, Sotheby's, 8th March 1960; 3) eventually sold in these rooms.

A Charles I vellum manuscript indenture, between John Taylor of Newarth?, in the parish of Oldham, Lancashire, a husbandman, and his wife Jane signed, and sealed, 38cm x 47cm, framed, [1]

A late Victorian lady's scrap album, gifted to and subsequently compiled by Florence 'Peg' Margaret Walton, August 4th, 1885, applied and enclosing various chromolithograph Christmas cards, pressed paper Valentines, clipped armorials and crests from headed notepaper - including Windsor Castle, ink manuscript autographs and signatures of Victorian dignitaries and aristocrats, typical sentimental and contemporary scraps, some caricatures, a few original compositions, engraved coats of arms clipped from earlier 18th/19th century publications, contemporary pictorial boards only, folio (32cm x 27cm), [1]

British India and the Raj - a Victorian army officer's ink manuscript diary, of Major Henry Lonsdale Hallewell (1852-1908) while aged 20 and on active service with the 2nd Battalion Royals, intermittently kept from 1st January - 8th June, 1872, only, his narrative commences in a chilly railway carriage from Bombay station - and he was glad of his great coat - eventually arriving at Fatehpur?, further accounts of men's sport racing, horse-buying, dinners (getting very tight on whisky), mess life with his brother officers, dances, official's financial irregularities, rumours, Russian and American news (the veiled possibility of war), cholera outbreaks, marching, boat races, comments on irregular language and snippets of domestic native and colonial life, further notes in places, some loosely-inserted, Lett's Diary for 1872, grey cloth gilt and blind, marbled endpapers, 8vo, [1] Henry Lonsdale Hallewell was born on 3 October 1852, the son of Colonel Edmund Gilling Hallewell, 28th Regiment. As a Sandhurst Cadet he was the recipient of a Royal Humane Society Medal in bronze, awarded for a rescue made on 28 May 1871 at Knaresborough, Yorkshire (R.H.S. Case No. 18724). He served in the Bengal Famine Relief of 1874 and was mentioned in the Order of the Army of India. As a Deputy Assistant Commissary General in the Commissariat and Transport Corps, he served in the Egypt and Sudan Campaign of 1884-85, being present at the battle of El-Teb. He later served in the operations in Zululand 1888. During the Second Boer War he served as a Major in the Queenstown Rifle Volunteers and was awarded the C.M.G. in 1900 and mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 16 April 1901). Latterly living at The Holt, Alverstoke, Hampshire, he died on 23 June 1908. Major Hallewell's medals were sold by Dix Noonan Webb, Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, 25th-26th June 2014, Lot 1118.

Local Interest - a George III ink manuscript and vellum accounts ledger, The Towns Acct:s for the Parish of Stanton in the County of Derby for the year 1797 - John Sims Office, inscribed and tabulated from April 28th 1797 to July 13th 1838, the end with 12 blank pages, the verso flyleaf with an account of the parish's acreage and its landowners, the ledger 42cm x 16.5cm, (1); Shardlow Union's Quarterly Abstract for Poor Relief, for September 25h 1837, inscribed and with its parishes, the gender of those paupers and if they claimed in-door or out-doo relief, etc., 57.5cm x 38cm, (1), [2]

Local Interest - a late 17th century vellum manuscript roll, listing the Mayors and Bailiffs of Derby from 1513-1678, inscribed throughout by the same hand but with a different stock of ink, three rolls tacked together, [1]

Local Interest - The Radbourne Hall Steward's Account Book, an 18th century manuscript, the receipt accounts of German Pole (b. 1687) of Radbourne Hall, by his steward Francis Webb, Derbyshire, for 1741/42, comprising 146 ink MS receipts, a few of which are tipped-in or bound-in alongside the regular leaves, the whole illustrating of local Derbyshire gentry life during the reign of George II, contemporary speckled calf binding, the covers tooled in blind, the upper-cover indistinctly titled in ink MS, raised spine bands, oblong 8vo (10.5cm x 20.5cm), [1]Much of the first part are receipts signed for by various Derby pub landlords for the expense of providing food and drink for voters coming in from the surrounding areas to vote in the 1741 general election, in which Pole, a Jacobite, stood in the Tory interest. According to contemporary accounts, he was expected to win, but the Mayor and Chamberlains arbitrarily ordered the polls to close at lunchtime on the day, before those from out of town had been able to cast their votes, whereas most of the town voters had done so by then, thus enabling a Whig majority. He expended £183 ? 11s ? 6d in some twenty hostelries. John Every (landlord of the Ship, Full Street,) received and signed for £5, and was the father of Sir Edward Every of Egginton, 8th Bt. who succeeded a distant cousin. Another is a payment to George Bage at the Ostrich, Sadler Gate, father of the pioneering Enlightenment novelist Robert Bage and brother-in-law of Robert Bakewell. This expenditure appears to have ben funded by a £200 loan for Joyce Osborne, sister of William Osborne, builder of St. Mary?s Gate House in Derby and a first cousin. He makes one payment of interest of £8 in July 1742. The payments reveal three hitherto unknown Derby inns: the Count Tarlow, the Weavers? Arms and the Welsh Harp, all unlocated. Throughout the book are receipted payments to craftsmen and sup0pliers of materials relating the building of the present Radburne Hall, including two (@ total £55) to Derby master stuccoer Abraham Denstone the elder, three (@ total £13 ? 17s ? 0d) to Anthony Richardson of behalf of the celebrated joiner (George) Eborall, one of the architect William Smith?s regular craftsmen. Others include: Pair of mahogany round tables @ £1 ? 7s ? 0d from John Trimmer, a notable Derby cabinet maker Two loads of boards totalling 5,250ft of boards @ 2/6d per hundred [ft.] £2 ? 3s - 6d to Anthony Ryley A load of lime (for mortar) @ 4/6 Two fothers (?fudders?) of lead @ £21 from Mr. Wilkcockson of Wirksworth 650 solid yards of hardstone @ 4d per yard £10 ? 16s ? 8d £4 to John Whitehurst FRS of Derby (presumably for the bracket clock) And 10,930 bricks from Michael Bates @ 6/- per 1,000 (pre3sumably facing bricks) and a further 12,800 @ 5/- per 1000, paid in full £6 ? 9s ? 6d. This firmly established the building date of the present hall as 1741-1743.

Local Interest - an interesting collection of local manuscript deeds, 1580-1798 including some notable names, to include: Mary I dated 2nd July 1553 vellum foot of a fine grant by Anthony Egginton to Nicholas Fletcher both of Holbrook, parish of Duffield, a a messuage and an orchard there; Elizabeth I dated 1580 paper 33.5 x 23.5cm, grant of land at Stanton-in-Peak to Sir Philip Strelley of Strelley (Notts.) and Shipley and Elizabeth his wife; Charles I dated 1628, vellum 36 x 29.5cm, admittance by succession to a farm at Duffield, confirmed by manor) court deputy Exuperius Bradshaw; Commonwealth, dated 16th September 1652, indenture, vellum foot of a fine 36 x 22cm confirming sale of seven selions of land in the open fields of Abbey Barns Flat and Windmill Pit Field, Derby from Thomas Jerram blacksmith of Derby and John Mather, husbandman of Boulton, endorsed by Steven Flamsteed; James II, dated 14th February 1688 vellum indenture 50 x 30cm, wherein Sir Philip Gell 3rd Bt. of Hopton grants Joseph Ward of Bradwell a farm in Hope Woodlands @ 3/- rent; autograph of Sir Philip and armorial seal; George III: dated 8/10/1798, vellum 35 x 25cm, Court Baron of Bonsall in front of jurors Daniel Sellors, Benjamin & Joseph Smedley, John Abell, Francis Clay, Peter Pearson, James Sheldon, Benjamin & Francis Raynes, John Houghton, Joseph Lane William Eaton admittance of Thomas Brownson son and heir into the copyhold farm held at Ballidon until his death by his father William, acknowledged by joint lords Bache Thornhill (of Stanton), Samuel Frith and Philip Gell (of Hopton) and examined by Adam Wo[o]lley junior, steward, [6]Note: Sir Philip Strelley died in 1607 having married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Garneys of Gurnish [sic] Norfolk; Windmill Pit Field was the place of the martyrdom of Joan Wast 1st August 1556; Stephen Flamsteed of Little Hallam Hall (d. 1688) was a Derby merchant and father of Rev. John Flamsteed, FRS (1656-1719) Britain?s first Astronomer Royal, who inherited his Derby house which still exists (much rebuilt and currently in decay); Philip Gell of Hopton (d. 1793) was the grand-nephew of the Sir Philip 3rd Bt. and court steward Adam Woolley FSA of Allen Hill, Matlock (1758-1827) was a notable local antiquary.

Three various manuscript volumes including an 18th Century handwritten part book of Remedies & Mixtures; a handwritten ledger of Purchases of Provisions & Services July 1795-January 1798 and a manuscript volume of Prose & Verse by William Hanson/John Morgan of Neath 1790-1811

Fifteen Switzerland pre-stamped entire's with hand struck and manuscript cancels

An archive of related items, including: Lettice & Lovage by Peter Shaffer - Theatre Royal, Bath, [Premiere] 1987; with 3 large printed plans, 6 original sketches, box containing model stage set, etc., 7 large b&w photos of the model, cloth and lino samples, typescript of “alternate version for the end (with members of the public.)”. Corpse, by Gerald Moon. The Apollo Theatre. [Premiere] 1984; with 4 large printed plans, 7 original sketches, manuscript props list, printed prop list, fit up schedule, cloth samples, programme, etc. Tons of Money, by Will Evans and Arthur Valentine, new version adapted by Alan Ayckbourn. National Theatre [Premiere] 1986; with 8 large printed plans, samples, printed props list, good luck and thanks card from cast and crew including Alan Ayckbourn, Michael Gambon, and many others. The Corn is Green, by Emlyn Williams. Theatre Royal, Bath [Premiere of this version with Deborah Kerr] and The Old Vic, 1985; with 4 large plans, 4pp sketches, handbill for Bath production, handbill and programme for Old Vic production, 3 thank you notes including one from Emlyn Williams. The Philanthropist, by Christopher Hampton. Chichester Literature Festival, 1985; with 2 large plans, photos, samples, props list, technical schedule, correspondence, list of expenses, thank you note from Edward Fox and Julian Wadham. A Small Family Business, by Alan Ayckbourn. Olivier Theatre, [Premiere] 1987; with 3 sketches, production fit up schedule, samples, props list. Also various drawings and costume design, a box of programmes and visitor's book.Condition report: also: A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL, by Alan Ayckbourn. National Theatre. [Premiere] 1984. With 4 large plans, costs estimates, technical schedule, props list ms. and printed, flier, programme. A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE by Arthur Miller, National Theatre, transferred to The Aldwych. 1987. Directed by Alan Ayckbourn; with 7 large plans, 2 sketches, props list, fliers. ORIGINAL LARGE DRAWINGS: Time and Yellow Roses, by Lesley Storm, large watercolour heighted with gold of stage; 440 x 570 mm. Play with a Tiger, by Doris Lessing, large drawing, 1st rough. A View from a Bridge, by Arthur Miller, watercolour of ‘A Room in a Tenement.’ 220 x 260 mm. COSTUME DESIGNS. 12 large sheets of mostly watercolour costume designs for The Cherry Orchard [see below] plus some stage designs for The Fighting Cock. Plus costume designs by Sophie Devine [as Motley],14 in all, some for The Fighting Cock by Luciene Hill, others may be from Checkov’s The Cherry Orchard. Devine died during the production of The Cherry Orchard and Tagg took over the costume designs. VISITOR’S BOOK. The visitor’s book from Tagg’s house in France signed by friends who included many from the theatre. Also some large black and white photographs of his French house. A box full of fliers and programmes for plays in which he was involved including also some telegrams and notes of congratulation and best wishes.

folio, 10 lines of manuscript text with musical notation, possibly from a Psalm, double glazed, 39 x 28cm

an official legal petition or edict, in the name of Philip of Spain, dated 7 July 1566, small folio, concerning 'de Torniellis' and 'de Brusatis', manuscript in Latin, 64pp. old brown staining, few holes to last leaf and lacking wax seal, edges uncut, loose in a later red velvet folder

early 19th century, formerly from Rushbrooke Hall, Suffolk, including numerous press cuttings, some manuscript material and memorabilia, etc

A scarce antique Ethiopian Coptic Christian manuscript /codex, handwritten in black and red ink on vellum, Psalter and other texts in Ge'ez (Ethiopic) Syiabic script and Anharic Semitic language family, 17th/18th century, vellum or parchment quires containing text sewn/bound between two adze cut wooden boards, 9.5 x 8.2 cm c/w leather satchel

A well-presented pair of stamp albums, giving representative collection of Britsh stamps, 1840-1970 with manuscript history (not exhaustive, but largely complete, no values exceeding 1s), inc four 1d blacks, three imperf. 2d blues, eight imperf. 1d reds, etc. (2)

Fiona Owen (Contemporary)/A Ballad to the Brightening Moon, Ravenna/Italian moonlit landscape, within intricate border of micro mosaic painted and gilded mystical animals/signed, exhibition label verso /tempera on panel, 18.5cm x 33cm/Note: Fiona Owen is a Cotswold based artist who paints in the medieval illuminated manuscript style CONDITION REPORT: Condition of painting appears very good. Glass has some dirty marks and white flecks to the inside. Exterior frame measures 42cm x 56cm. This has some minor dents and small scrapes, however the overall appearance is very good.ARR Artist's Resale Right may apply to the sale of this lot if the hammer price is the equivalent of 1000 Euros or more, incurring an additional fee. For further information please ask Chorley's or visit www.dacs.org.uk

H W Ras Manuscript map in ink and watercolour, laid paper with Turkey Mill Kent and Britinannia watermark, tanning along top edge, some light soiling, top and side edges attached to backing, 6cm closed tear halfway down left edge, 4cm closed tear next to main title, framedFull title: Kaart Van De Bermuda Eilanden: Gedachtenis Aam Mijn Verblyf Op De Bermuda's In De Anglo-Boer Wars 1899 - 190[0]The decorative, but poignant map shows the locations of the various POW camps as well as distances to various cities.33,5 by 42cm

An attractive small manuscript copy of Maktabi Shirazi's Layla va Majnun, with twelve illustrations Qajar Persia, late 19th Century, ownership inscriptions dated Ramadan 1299/July-August 1882Persian manuscript on blue-green paper, 102 leaves, nine lines to the page written in two columns of small shikasteh in black ink, two further couplets written diagonally in outer panels, inner margins ruled in black and gold, double-page illuminated frontispiece in colours and gold, twelve illustrations in gouache and gold, cloth binding 111 x 79 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceThe estate of a distinguished Iranian academic, California, USA.The illustrations are as follows:1. Layla and Majnun at school (presumably their falling in love and one of their mothers finding out).2. Majnun being taken to the Ka'ba.3. Majnun at the Ka'ba.4. A man with a dagger goes to Majnun.5. A physician goes to see Layla with flowers from Majnun.6. Majnun stopping the fight between his and Layla's tribes.7. Majnun ties his hands with ropes for the hunter to take him instead of the deer.8. The shepherd goes to see Majnun with his flocks.9. Majnun's father goes to see him.10. Majnun in the wilderness.11. Majnun goes to see Layla. 12.The two tribes astonished at finding Layla and Majnun dead.There are two notes, on front and back endpapers, by Ghulam Husain, son of Ihtisham al-Dawlah. One indicates that this copy of Layla and Majnun belonged to his mother and he is giving it to Princess Shams al-Muluk. The note is dated Ramadan 1299/July-August 1882 and bears his seal impression, reading 'Ghulam Husain'.The second note states that this illustrated copy of Layla and Majnun belongs to Ghulam Husain, son of Ihtisham al-Dawlah, and that he is giving it to Princess Shams al-Muluk. It has the same date and seal impression. Ihtisham al-Dawlah must be Sultan Uvays Mirza (d. AH 1310/AD 1892-93), son of Farhad Mirza.Maktabi Shirazi was a Shirazi poet of the late 15th-early 16th Century, who composed his Layla and Majnun in AH 895/AD 1489-90. There is no record of his actual name, and he is recorded only with his pen name Maktabi, because his main profession was school teacher (maktab). He is also recorded as having travelled to Khorasan, India and Arabia and is buried in Shiraz. According to Richard he died circa 1510, and dedicated the work to Amir-Zada Qasim (see F. Richard, Catalogue des Manuscrits Persans, Volume II, Le Supplement Persan, Rome 2013, pp. 851-52, no. 647.Rypka comments: 'Nizami found an uncommonly large number of imitators of his poem Layla u Majnun, in Iran and in the areas falling under the influence of Persian culture – in Turkey, Central Asia, India and so on. They imitate his form, choice of material, treatment of analogous and sometimes like subjects, preferably in the same Khamsa form. Amir Khusrau, the first in point of time, occupies a prominent place and he in his turn also influences his successors. Among these, Maktabi of Shiraz approaches his model most nearly in his admirable epic poem Layla u Majnun, which dates from AH 895/AD 1489–90 and is a work that even achieves new effects by means of lyrical ghazal insertions. Tremendous admiration for Nizami is reflected also in the miniatures and in the minor arts in general, where the themes are for the great part taken from the Khamsa.' See J. Rypka, History of Persian Literature, Dordrecht 1968, pp. 98 and 213. For another manuscript of this text, see lot 48 in this sale. A fine version of this text was offered in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 24th April 2018, lot 144.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * R* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Muhammad bin Abdu'l-Khaliq bin Ma'ruf, Kanz al-Lughat, an Arabic–Persian dictionary (composed circa AH 870/AD 1465–66), copied by ibn Shaykh Ruhi, Shaykh 'Abdullah Khalkhali Persia, dated Tuesday Muharram 1095/20th [?] December 1683Persian and Arabic manuscript on paper, 284 leaves, 27 lines to the page written in clear nasta'liq script in black ink, text arranged in alphabetical order with letters and Arabic words and sentences picked out in red ink, significant sentences underlined in red, catchwords in red and black in wide margins 320 x 215 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceThe estate of a distinguished Iranian academic, California, USA.The text is divided into 28 books (kitab), and each book into 28 bab. The original text was dedicated to Sultan Muhammad of Gilan (1447–1478). The scribe is unrecorded.Three copies, one of which is dated Muharram 1059, exactly the same date as this copy, are in the British Library, London (see C. Rieu, Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum, vol. II, photolithographic reprint, 1966, pp. 507–508, Add. 7440, Add.23,571, and Add.23,572). For other copies in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, see F. Richard, Catalogue des Manuscrits Persans – Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Tome II, Rome 2013, pp. 592–596, Supplement Persans 438–441.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

A Qajar lacquer penbox (qalamdan) by Ibrahim Persia, late 19th/early 20th Centurywith rounded ends and sliding tray, decorated in polychrome and gilt with a lady carrying a dervish on her back to the top and further figural scenes to the sides, the base with an interlace of vines, the sides of the inner tray with further scrolling floral vines 22.3 cm. long. Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.Inscriptions: raqam-e Ibrahim, 'Painted by Ibrahim'.According to Karimzadeh Tabrizi, Ibrahim was born in Isfahan and was a pupil of 'Abbas Shirazi (painter of lot number 67). He worked on lacquer, enamelling and manuscript illustrations and signed in various manners. Some of his recorded works are dated between AH 1325 (AD 1907-8) and AH 1331 (AD. 1912-3). See M. A. Karimzadeh Tabrizi, The Lives & Art of Old Painters of Iran, vol. 1, London, 1985, pp. 12-14 and Khalili, Robinson and Stanley, Lacquer of the Islamic Lands, Part Two, 1997, cat. nos. 490-4 and p. 264, nos. 490-4 for examples of his different signatures.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

A fine large siyah mashq (calligraphic exercise) in nasta'liq script, signed by Muhammad Isma'il Gulpaygani Persia, at Gulpaygan, dated dhi'l-qa'adah 1092/December 1681-January 1682Persian manuscript on paper, text written diagonally in nasta'liq script in light brown, the colophon written in white also diagonally, in the other direction, all on an olive green ground within cloudbands against an illuminated ground with floral motifs in polychrome, laid down on a later album page with gilt floral borders composition 295 x 173 mm.; album page 335 x 220 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.The colophon, artfully written in white, inverted, states that the composition was copied in haste by Isma'il in Gulpaygan in dhi'l-qa'dah 1092. The year is in Persian and the word for thousand is smudged.The scribe is likely to be the same Muhammad Isma'il Gulpaygani, whose only other recorded work is dated Sha'ban 1035/April-May 1626, and about whom nothing else is known. See Mehdi Bayani, ahval va asar-e khosh-nevisan, vol. 3, Tehran 1348 sh., pp. 638-39).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Muhammad bin Murtada, better known as Muhsin, al-Mafatih al-Sharayi'a, on Islamic law, originally composed in AH 1042/AD 1633-34 Qajar Persia, dated AH 1230/AD 1814-15Arabic manuscript on paper, 268 leaves, 22 lines to the page written in naskhi script in black ink with significant words in red, extensive commentaries in outer margins in nasta'liq script, black morocco with stamped central lacquer medallions 298 x 195 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.The colophon gives the title as al-Mafatih and states that this original text was composed in AH 1042/AD 1633-34, but that this manuscript was copied in AH 1230/AD 1814-15. The full title of the work appears on folio 2b: Mafatih al-Sharayi'a, on Islamic law (shari'a). The author states that he has arranged the work in twelve books (kitab) with two conclusions (khatimah).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.Lot to be sold without reserve.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

A small illuminated Qur'an Persia, late 18th/early 19th CenturyArabic manuscript on paper, 275 leaves, 18 lines to the page written in small naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black, gold dots marking verse-endings, inner margins ruled in red and gold, remargined throughout, double-page illuminated frontispiece in colours and gold, preceded by the index and opening prayers written within cartouches, sura headings written in naskhi script in red on a gold ground within a panel, seal impressions, later Qajar floral lacquer binding, with slipcase 101 x 70 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

An album page of calligraphic practice writing (siyah mashq) in profuse nasta'liq script Persia, 17th-18th CenturyPersian manuscript on paper, closely intertwining nasta'liq script written diagonally in black ink within cloudbands on a ground of floral motifs in colours and gold, the composition laid down on an album page with blue floral inner border and wide outer border with scrolling floral motifs in gold on an orange ground composition 211 x 140 mm.; album page 392 x 264 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceThe Shakerine Collection.See lot 27 for a page from the same album and by the same calligrapher.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

An illuminated Qur'an Qajar Persia, circa 1800-1840Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper, 313 leaves, 14 lines to the page written in naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black, gold roundels marking verse-endings, interlinear Persian translation written in small nasta'liq script in red ink, interlinear rules in gold, inner margins ruled in gold and blue, illuminated marginal devices, sura headings written in naskhi script in red ink on a gold ground within illuminated panels, extensive marginal commentaries in shikasteh, illuminated double-page frontispiece in colours and gold, lacquer binding depicting roses and other flowers, doublures depicting irises on a red ground, in cloth bag 197 x 125 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.The dating is based on the seal impression of Muhammad Taqi (dated 1839-40), as found in other manuscripts in this collection. There is no scribe's name or date.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

An illuminated Qur'an, copied by Ibrahim Saidawi[?], a pupil of 'Ali al-Wasfi al-Istanbuli Ottoman, provincial, dated AH 1254/AD 1838-39Arabic manuscript on paper, 302 leaves, 15 lines to the page written in naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in red and black ink, gold roundels decorated with blue dots marking verse-endings, inner margins ruled in red and gold, illuminated rectangular panels prepared for sura headings, illuminated devices in wide outer margins, one double-page frontispiece, colophon incorporated into an illuminated panel in colours and gold, some crude repairs, brown morocco, with flap, covers with gilt European style Renaissance decorative design, doublures and endleaves of modern marbled paper 152 x 108 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceThe Shakerine Collection.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

A calligraphic composition written in nasta'liq script Persia, 17th Century and laterPersian manuscript on paper, seven lines written diagonally in nasta'liq script in black ink, a further line written vertically, on a gilt-sprinkled ground depicting simurghs amidst foliage, margins ruled in gold, red and blue 300 x 147 mm. (to outer margin rule)Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.The text and its author have not been identified.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Goswami Shri Dwarkesji, a Vaishnavite priest, standing in a landscape Kishangarh, circa 1820-1830gouache and gold on paper, gold inner border, mauve outer border, nagari inscription in gold in upper border 202 x 142 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceGunter Heil Collection, Berlin, before 1991-2016.The inscription reads: sri dvarkesji.The priest belongs to the Vallabhacharya sect of Vaishnavism, which was founded by Vallabhacharya (1479-1531) around the idol of Sri Nath-Ji. As a result of the persecution instigated by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the shrine of the cult was moved and eventually found sanctuary at Nathdwara in 1671. Other images of the idol were scattered around Rajasthan and Gujarat. The one found at Kankroli is named Dwarkadhishaji, and therefore the priest's name seen in the inscription on this painting may mean that he is the head priest there: alternatively, it may be simply his personal name. Various members of the royal dynasties of Rajasthan became devotees of the cult in the 18th and 19th Centuries. He bears the Vaishnava tilak on his forehead, and holds a religious manuscript in his left hand, while raising a single leaf from it in his right. The text visible on that leaf reads [s]ruti sri ekadasa skamda namani, 'the honourable Book 11'.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Majnun brought to Layla's camp in chains by a beggar woman, after an illustration in Shah Tahmasp's manuscript of Nizami's Khamsa, by a follower of Haj Mirza Aqa Imami (1880-1955), Iran, 20th Centurygouache on card, five panels at top containing text in naskhi and nasta'liq script, profusely decorated wide outer border, in a contemporary Chinese-style frame 395 x 273 mm.; with frame 52 x 41 cm.Footnotes:A close copy of the original by Mir Sayyid 'Ali in the British Library (Or. 2265, fol. 157v), from the Khamsa of Nizami produced for Shah Tahmasp.The title heading reads: avardan-e majnun pish-e layla, 'Majnun is brought to Layla'. The couplets are from Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi's Mathnavi (Book 5), which refers to ignorant people saying that Majnun is stupid to be in love with Layla, that there are many more beautiful girls in town.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

An illustrated leaf from a manuscript of the Risalah Hatamiyyah of Kamal al-Din Husayn Kashefi Sabzavari, depicting a story concerning the famous generosity of the Arab prince Hatam-e Tai Persia, 16th Centurygouache and gold on paper, three lines of text written in nasta'liq script in black ink, with a heading in red ink, inner margins ruled in colours and gold, recto ten lines of text leaf 193 x 135 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceDr Thomas Ewart Marston (1905-1984), curator of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature art at Yale University Library.Minna Marston, his wife, and thence by descent.Dr. Marston was elected trustee of the Yale University Library Association in 1933 and was the curator of Mediaeval and Renaissance literature at the library until his retirement in 1972. He had a BA from Yale and and MA and PhD from Harvard University. He was the author of Britain's Imperial Role in the Red Sea Area: 1800-1878 and co-author of The Vineland Map and the Tartar Relation.The Risalah Hatamiyyah was composed in AH 891/AD 1486-87. It is apparently the only book written entirely about Hatam-e Tai, an Arab prince and a poet of the pre-Islamic era, known for his great generosity.The illustration here relates to this virtue. A man was sent by the King of Yemen to find Hatam, kill him, bring his head to the ruler and so receive an enormous reward. Not knowing Hatam and where he was, he met a young man whom he told of his mission, asked to help him find Hatam, and in return to get part of the reward. The young man - who happens to be Hatam himself - offers his head so that the king gets his wishes and the messenger his big reward. The messenger kisses Hatam, goes to the King of Yemen and tells him of Hatam's generosity. The king of Yemen acknowledges Hatam's generosity as exceeding anyone else's.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * R* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

A large album of leaves from dispersed manuscripts of the Qur'an, written in eastern kufic, thuluth, muhaqqaq and naskhi scripts, and calligraphic specimen pages Persia, 12th-14th CenturyArabic manuscript on paper, laid down on later gold-sprinkled card mounts, 23 pages, comprising (in order): six leaves of calligraphic specimens in thuluth, muhaqqaq and naskhi script; 14 leaves from a manuscript of the Qur'an written in eastern kufic script, Persia, 13th Century, 18 lines to the page; 4 leaves from a manuscript of the Qur'an, Persia, 12th Century, 9 lines to the page; one leaf from a manuscript of the Qur'an, 11 lines to the page, Persia, 12th Century; one leaf from a manuscript of the Qur'an, Persia, 12th Century, five lines to the page album 500 x 335 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceChristie's, Islamic Art and Manuscripts, 11th April 2000, lot 57.The estate of a distinguished Iranian academic, California, USA.The album consists of:A. Recto: sections excised from different manuscripts in various styles, one copied by Abd al-Baqi al-Mawlawi (unrecorded), and dated AH 1021/AD 1612-13; verso: sections copied from qasidah al-Burdah, with a colophon giving the name of the scribe Haji Maqsud known as Maftul-band (unrecorded), for a certain Nur al-Din Muhammad, in Shiraz, 11th Rajab 980/17th November 1572. B. Sections excised from a book of sayings, one attributed to Imam 'Ali.C. Sections excised from a book of sayings attributed to Imam 'Ali.D. Leaves from a Qur'an in eastern kufic script:1. sura XXXIX, al-Zumar, The Crowds, verse 5 to part of verse 23.2. sura VI, al-An'am, The Cattle, part of verse 24 to part of verse 44.3. sura XXXV, al-Fatir, The Originator of Creation, or al-Malaika, The Angels, part of verse 14 to part of verse 39.4. sura XL, Mu'min, The Believer, part of verse 37 to end of verse 59.5. sura XXXIV, Saba', The City of Saba', part of verse 9 to part of verse 29.6. sura XXXIII, al-Ahzab, The Confederate, part of verse 48 to end of verse 59.7. sura XXXVI, Ya Sin (being abbreviated letters), part of verse 20 to part of verse 56.8. sura V, al-Ma'ida, The Table Spread, part of verse 6 to part of verse 18.9. sura V, al-Ma'ida, The Table Spread, part of verse 36 to part of verse 48.10. sura VI, al-An'am, The Cattle, part of verse 44 to part of verse 63.11. sura XXXVII, al-Saffat, Those Ranged in Ranks, part of verse 77 to end of verse 141.12. sura IV, al-Nisa'a, The Women, part of verse 76 to part of verse 90.13. sura IV, al-Nisa'a, The Women, part of verse 102 to part of verse 120.14. sura XXXIX, al-Zumar, The Crowds, part of verse 23 to part of verse 47.E. Four leaves, Persia, 12th Century:15. sura XL, al-Mu'min, The Believer, part of verse 11 to part of verse 21.16–17. sura XLIII, al-Zukhruf, part of verse 63 to end of verse 89; and sura XLIV, al-Dukhan, Smoke or Mist, heading in gold, verse 1 to part of verse 7.18. sura XL, al-Mu'min, The Believer, part of verse 21 to end of verse 28.F. One leaf, Persia, 12th Century:19. sura LXXX, 'Abasa, He Frowned, verse 4 to the end of verse 42; and sura LXXXI, al-Takwir, The Folding Up, heading in gold, verse 1 to part of verse 7.G. One leaf, Persia, 12th Century:20. sura II, al-Baqara, The Heifer, part of verse 66 to part of verse 70.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

An album page of calligraphic practice writing (siyah mashq) in profuse nasta'liq script Persia, 17th-18th CenturyPersian manuscript on paper, closely intertwining nasta'liq script written diagonally in black ink within cloudbands on a ground of floral motifs in colours and gold, the composition laid down on an album page with blue floral inner border and wide outer border with scrolling floral motifs in gold on an orange ground composition 204 x 128 mm.; album page 393 x 260 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceThe Shakerine Collection.See lot 28 for a page from the same album and by the same calligrapher.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Maktabi Shirazi, Layla and Majnun, with nine illustrations Persia, in the city of Hamadan, late 19th Century (in the month of Dhi'l-qa'dah)Persian manuscript on paper, some leaves with Qajar embossed stamp depicting the Lion and the Sun, 61 leaves, six lines to the page written in fine shikasteh in three columns in couplets, nine paintings, seal impressions of former owners, brown calf gilt 215 x 138 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.The subjects of the illustrations are:Majnun taken by his father to visit the Ka'ba.Ibn Salam sees Layla and falls in love with her.Ibn Salam and Layla together.Majnun visiting Layla in her tent, with a shepherd and flock including a human-headed sheep in foreground.Majnun in the wilderness surrounded by animals.Majnun visited by his father in the wilderness[?]Majnun lamenting at Layla's grave in the wilderness.Layla's coffin surrounded by her family.The graves of Majnun and Layla visited by a youth.Maktabi Shirazi was a Shirazi poet of the late 15th-early 16th Century, who composed his Layla and Majnun in AH 895/AD 1489-90. There is no record of his actual name, and he is recorded only with his pen name Maktabi, because his main profession was school teacher (maktab). He is also recorded as having travelled to Khorasan, India and Arabia and is buried in Shiraz. According to Richard he died circa 1510, and dedicated the work to Amir-Zada Qasim (see F. Richard, Catalogue des Manuscrits Persans, Volume II, Le Supplement Persan, Rome 2013, pp. 851-52, no. 647.Rypka comments: 'Nizami found an uncommonly large number of imitators of his poem Layla u Majnun, in Iran and in the areas falling under the influence of Persian culture – in Turkey, Central Asia, India and so on. They imitate his form, choice of material, treatment of analogous and sometimes like subjects, preferably in the same Khamsa form. Amir Khusrau, the first in point of time, occupies a prominent place and he in his turn also influences his successors. Among these, Maktabi of Shiraz approaches his model most nearly in his admirable epic poem Layla u Majnun, which dates from AH 895/AD 1489–90 and is a work that even achieves new effects by means of lyrical ghazal insertions. Tremendous admiration for Nizami is reflected also in the miniatures and in the minor arts in general, where the themes are for the great part taken from the Khamsa.' See J. Rypka, History of Persian Literature, Dordrecht 1968, pp. 98 and 213. A fine version of this text was offered in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 24th April 2018, lot 144.The manuscript bears the seal impression of Muhammad Taqi.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.Lot to be sold without reserve.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Sa'di, Kulliyat, poetry, copied by 'Abd al-Karim al-Tabataba'i Qajar Persia, begun in AH 1267/AD 1850-51, completed on Rabi' II 1268/January-February 1852Persian manuscript on paper, 268 leaves, 24 lines to the page written in fine nasta'liq script in black, horizontally in a central column, 17 lines written diagonally in left and right columns, headings and significant words in red ink, intercolumnar rules in gold, inner margins ruled in gold and blue, illuminated double-page frontispiece, six further double-page section openings in colours and gold, lacquer binding in the style of Razi, with central medallions, doublures with stylised gilt floral motifs on a red ground 255 x 160 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.'Abd al-Karim al-Tabataba'i is recorded as a little-known calligrapher of the 19th Century, with only two works by him known, one in the Gulistan Palace Library in Tehran, dated AH 1269/AD 1852-53, and another (in the Tehran market) made for Mirza Taqi Khan Amir-e Kabir and dated AH 1265/AD 1848-49. (See Mehdi Bayani, ahval va asar-e khosh-nevisan, vol. 2, Tehran 1346 sh., pp. 412-13).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

A leaf from a manuscript of the Qur'an written in kufic script on vellum Near East or North Africa, 9th-10th CenturyArabic manuscript on vellum, 7 lines to the page written in bold kufic script in black ink with vowel points in red, green and yellow, gold petalled roundels marking verse-endings, two circular devices containing the word ashr in stylised kufic 175 x 268 mm. (visible size)Footnotes:TextQur'an, sura XC, al-balad, The City, part of verse 10-part of verse 18.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

A fine prayer book, beginning with du'a' al-'alawi (The 'Alawi Prayer), and ending with dua' sayfi (The Sayfi Prayer), commissioned by, or in the library of Ihtisham al-Dawlah, governor and military commander Qajar Persia, circa AH 1253/AD 1837-38Arabic and Persian manuscript on cream and sky blue paper, 98 leaves, 7 lines to the page written in fine, bold naskhi script in black ink within cloudbands, interlinear undulating gold floral motifs, inner margins ruled in gold, red and blue, occasional headings written in naskhi script in red on a gold ground within illuminated panels, double-page illuminated frontispiece with outer margins profusely decorated with scrolling floral motifs in colours and gold, one further similar double page of illumination, fine contemporary lacquer binding with Arabic text in thuluth script within central medallions and border cartouches, written by Muhammad Husain al-Sharif, dated AH 1253/AD 1837-38, doublures of red leather gilt, buff leather slipcase with embossed ownership impressions 220 x 143 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.The texts on the lacquer binding, in thuluth script, are quotations from the Prophet and the Imams on the protective value of prayers, written by Muhammad Husain al-Sharif (unidentified) and dated AH 1253/AD 1837-38. The binding must be contemporary, and almost certainly made for, this manuscript, since it fits perfectly, and this can therefore imply the date of the manuscript.The manuscript was in the possession of Ihtisham al-Dawlah and may have been produced for him. There is a note on the opening page written by him stating that the manuscript contains prayers and that it entered his library in AH 1271/AD 1854. He signs with his name Khanlar Khan, but adds his oval seal impression with his title Ihtisham al-Dawlah. The same seal impression is at the end of the text. His embossed seal, reading Ihitisham al-Dawlah within a cartouche is on the slipcase. Khanlar Mirza was the 17th son of 'Abbas Mirza Na'ib al-Saltanah. He held numerous posts during his life, including Governor of Yazd, Kirman, Hamadan, Mazandaran, Borujerd, Luristan and Khuzistan and Gulpaygan. He was titled Ihtisham al-Dawlah in AH 1268/AD 1851-52. He was in charge of the army in Khuzistan when the British took over Muhammarah port in AH 1273/AD 1857, which he lost to them. After that he held the governorship of Isfahan and died in AH 1278/AD 1861-62). (See M. Bamdad, Dictionary of National Biography of Iran 1700-1900, vol. 1, Tehran 1966, pp. 473-476).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Abu'l-Majd Majdud bin Adam Sana'i Ghaznavi, better known as Sana'i, Muntakhab-i Hadiqa, an abridged version of the Hadiqa al-haqiqa by Sana'i, copied by Mirza Husayn al-Musawi, presented to Sayf al-Sultan by Mir Ma'sum 'Ali al-Musawi Persia, dated 14th Safar 1221/3rd May 1806Persian manuscript on paper, 52 leaves, 10 lines to the page written in nasta'liq script in black ink in two columns, headings written in red ink, intercolumnar rules and inner margins ruled in black and gold, opening double-page illumination with headpiece and text within cloudbands on a gold ground, margins profusely decorated with stylised floral motifs, two seal impressions of the owner dated AH 1255/AD 1839-40, later lacquer binding, not belonging, with covers with stylised vines and bunches of grapes, border of stylised floral motifs 173 x 108 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.Ma'sum 'Ali al-Musawi was a poet (d. 1833), who seems to have produced other similar texts, including a collection of poems (jung-e ash'ar) in the University Library of Tehran (no. 3587), presented to Na'ib al-Saltanhah and dated Rabi' II 1233/February-March 1818. Neither Sayf al-Sultan nor the scribe Mirza Husayn al-Husayni have been identified.The text is an anthology of 1001 bayt of Sana'i's Hadiqa al-haqiqa. For copies of the Hadiqa in the British Library, London, Bodleian, Oxford, and in Berlin, see C. Rieu, Supplement to the Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum, London 1977, pp. 146–147, no. 215. Another abridged copy entitled Intikhab-i Hadiqa or Muntakhab-i Hadiqa, and with the same opening and concluding verses as this copy, is in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. See F. Richard, Catalogue des Manuscrits Persans, Tome II: Le Supplement Persan, Rome 2013, p. 908, SP 704.There are two seal impressions of the owner of the manuscript, Muhammad Taqi, dated AH 1255/AD 1839-40.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Two leaves from a manuscript of poetry, with illustrations depicting the Mir'aj, and a scene of pupils with a scholar Qajar Persia, late 19th CenturyPersian manuscript on paper, one leaf with two lines of shikasteh written in black ink in three columns (text not identified), the paintings in watercolour leaves 160 x 100 mm.(2)Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.Lot to be sold without reserve.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

An album in concertina form, comprising fourteen pages from a manuscript of the Divan of Hafiz written in fine shikasteh, in the manner of Darvish 'Abd al-Majid Persia, 18th/19th CenturyPersian manuscript on paper laid down on card album pages, 14 leaves on 8 pages, 14 lines to the page written in fine shikasteh in black ink in two columns within cloudbands on a gold ground, headings in red ink, laid down on variously coloured album pages with paper onlay inner borders, later velvet covers text area 104 x 55 mm. and slightly smaller; album 270 x 180 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.A label on the front cover attributes the hand to that of the 18th Century shikasteh calligrapher Darvish 'Abd al-Majid, considered the master of the style, though his work was often copied during his lifetime and later.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

An album of calligraphy in concertina form, copied by 'Ali Reza Persia, dated AH 982/AD 1574-75Persian manuscript on gold-sprinkled paper laid down on card, 14 leaves, 5 lines to the page written in fine nasta'liq script in black ink, some words in gold, inner borders of blue paper with inner margin rules in colours and gold, outer borders with stencilled floral motifs, one illuminated headpiece, probably excised from another manuscript, one further illuminated panel on last leaf, small depictions of birds interspersed throughout the text added at a later date, perhaps in India, beginnings of lines slightly trimmed, brown leather binding, doublures of red leather with central stamped medallions text area 132 x 68 mm.; album 270 x 180 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceChristie's, Islamic Art and Manuscripts, 10th October 2000, lot 74.The estate of a distinguished Iranian academic, California, USA.'Ali Reza 'Abbasi is recorded as a calligrapher at the court of Shah 'Abbas and is one of the most famous calligraphers of the Safavid period. For album pages signed by him see S. R. Canby, Shah 'Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, London 2009, pp.42-44, nos. 5 and 6). He was responsible for the inscriptions on famous monuments including the Shrine of Imam Rida in Mashhad and the Sheikh Lutfullah Mosque in Isfahan. See also Mehdi Bayani, ahval va asar-e khosh-nevisan, vol. II, Tehran 1346 sh., pp.456-61.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Inba' al-Istifa' fi-haqq aba' al-Mustafa, a religious treatise concerning the ancestry of the Prophet Muhammad, by Muhyi al-Din Muhammad bin al-Khatib al-Amasi, better known as al-Khatib Qasim (Muhyiddin Mehmed Hatibzade) Ottoman Turkey, at madrasa Ayasofya, Constantinople, copied by the scribe 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmed, during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (reg. 1520 -66), dated 10th Rajab 936/10th March 1530Arabic manuscript on polished paper, 81 leaves, 13 lines to the page written in clear ta'liq script in black ink, significant words and sentences underlined in red ink, catchwords, extensive Arabic commentaries written diagonally in wide outer margins, 16th Century burgundy morocco binding with stamped central medallions decorated with intertwining floral motifs and serrated leaves on a gold ground, outer borders tooled in gold, doublures of brown morocco, with flap, lacking spine 186 x 127 mm.Footnotes:An Early Copy of an Ottoman Manuscript Dedicated to Sultan Suleyman the MagnificentProvenancePrivate collection, Lebanon.Thence by descent to a private UK collection, from around the 1960s.The colophon of this copy of the work states that it was dedicated to Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (reg. 1520–66) in AH 931/AD 1524–25.The author was born in Amasya in AH 864/AD 1459-60, where he also studied, gaining expertise in subjects as varied as exegesis, law, music and the esoteric science of letters (jafr). He taught in various schools (madrasas) in Amasya and Bursa, and was for a while tutor to Prince Ahmed. He was appointed head teacher of the madrasa built by Sultan Selim I (reg.1512-20) next to Ayasofya in Constantinople, and then in the Semaniye madrasa in the same city. He died in AH 940/AD 1533-34, and was buried in Eyup. For a biography of the author, see A. Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library, Manchester 1934, pp. 705-706, no. 425. The author and his works are listed in the two following works: K. Celebi, Kashf al-Zunun, vol. I, Beirut, n.d., p. 170; O. Kehhale, Majmu' al-Mu'allifin, vol. II, Baghdad, n.d., p. 148. Manuscripts from the period of Sultans Bayezid, Selim I and Suleyman the Magnificent are very rare, and in the case of this copy both the author and the Sultan to whom it was dedicated were still alive when it was produced. Moreover, it was copied in 1530, only five years after it was composed in 1525.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

An illustrated leaf from a manuscript of the Sharaf-nameh, the fifth book of Nizami's Khamsa, depicting Dara in battle with Iskandar's army Persia, 16th Centurygouache and gold on paper, recto four lines of text written in nasta'liq script in black ink in four columns, outer border decorated with scrolling stylised floral motifs in gold, verso 23 lines of text, inner margins ruled in colours and gold leaf 250 x 147 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceDr Thomas Ewart Marston (1905-1984), curator of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature art at Yale University Library.Minna Marston, his wife, and thence by descent.Dr. Marston was elected trustee of the Yale University Library Association in 1933 and was the curator of Mediaeval and Renaissance literature at the library until his retirement in 1972. He had a BA from Yale and and MA and PhD from Harvard University. He was the author of Britain's Imperial Role in the Red Sea Area: 1800-1878 and co-author of The Vineland Map and the Tartar Relation.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * R* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

A small illuminated Qur'an, commissioned for Hasan 'Ali Beg and copied by Muhammad Sadiq Qajar Persia, dated AH 1217/ AD 1802-03Arabic manuscript on paper, 234 leaves, 17 lines to the page written in naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black and red, gold dots between verses, inner margins ruled in red and gold, catchwords, sura headings written in thuluth script in red ink, one double page of illumination in colours and gold at beginning, preceded by opening prayers incorporated within illuminated central medallions, and illuminated tables incorporating the index in colours and gold, outer borders decorated with intertwining floral motifs in gold and some colour, last sura followed by concluding prayers at end, floral lacquer binding, covers decorated with nightingales amidst roses in red and gold, rebacked, edges frayed, discoloration, some crude repairs 111 x 72 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate Spanish collection.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Amir Mu'izzi (d. circa 1127), Divan, poetry Persia, 19th CenturyPersian manuscript on paper, 88 leaves, 16 lines to the page written in nasta'liq script in black ink in two columns, inner margins ruled in gold, blue, red, green and black, one illuminated headpiece in colours and gold, seal impressions and library labels of previous owners, brown leather gilt with central floral medallions and cornerpieces 208 x 145 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.A note on the front flyleaf dated AH 1335/AD 1916-17 gives the name Ziya' Lashkar Taqi Danesh, the head of the Cabinet of the Province of Fars. There is also an oval seal impression of Mustashar A'zam dated AH 1339[?]/AD 1920-21.There is an ex libris printed label on the front doublure for the library of Ziya' Lashgar Taqi Danesh in Shiraz. Finally there is the same seal impression of Muhammad Taqi.Mirza Taqi Khan Mustashar A'zam (d. 1948), titled Ziya' Lashkar, was a poet with the pen name Danesh, and also Hakim Suri for his witty poetry. He was a calligrapher and collector of manuscripts, photographs and pen boxes. He worked as a secretary to Qajar high officials, was appointed Deputy Governor of Yazd and later that of Rasht. At the end of Qajar rule and under Reza Shah Pahlavi, he was the head of Justice Department and Mayor of Shiraz. The note dated AH 1335/AD 1916-17 must have been written when he was in Shiraz. (For more information on him see: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/danes-taqi-b).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.Lot to be sold without reserve.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Guru Nanak seated in a landscape with Mardana and three devotees, perhaps an illustration from a Janamsakhi manuscript North India, late 19th Centurygouache and gold on paper, red border 330 x 220 mm.Footnotes:For similar compositions, with figures in a expansive, largely empty landscape background, see Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 2nd October 2012, lot 206; also Christie's, Islamic and Indian Manuscripts and Works on Paper, 23rd April 2012, lots 319 and 320.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Bhai Bala recites the story of Guru Nanak to devotees and onlookers, an illustration from a Janamsakhi manuscript Provincial Mughal, late 18th Centurygouache and gold on paper, dull red and black margin rules, plain border 245 x 210 mm.Footnotes:Comparison with other versions of this scene (see Asian Art Museum, Gift of the Kapany Collection, object no. 1998.58.1) indicates that the scene depicted here is from an episode in connection with creation of one of the textual traditions relating to the life of Guru Nanak (1469-1539). His encounters in distant lands, conducted over several journeys spanning several decades, were memorialised and embellished in several biographical texts known as Janamsakhis. This painting would have been commissioned to illustrate a Janamsakhi from the Bhai Bala textual tradition. The were the most popular of the life stories because of the claim that they come from first-hand accounts of Guru Nanak's life: Bhai Bala was said to have accompanied his master on his travels and later recited them to Guru Angad (1504-1552), Nanak's successor as the spiritual leader of the Sikhs. Here, Bhai Bala faces Guru Angad, who sits on a low chair. A woman observes the scene from a doorway while nearby a man pays his respects to the Guru.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Six calligraphic album pages in shikasteh, including two attributed to 'Abd al-Majid Taliqani, known as Darvish Persia, 18th-19th CenturyPersian manuscript on paper, each composition written in shikasteh in black ink diagonally and horizontally within cloudbands on a gold ground, coloured paper borders, all mounted and framed together the largest 230 x 135 mm.; frame 37.5 x 120.5 cm.Footnotes:ProvenanceThe estate of a distinguished Iranian academic, California, USA.The compositions are as follows (listed left to right as framed):1.Twelve lines of text written diagonally in fine shikasteh, no scribe or date. 215 x 155 mm. 2. Twelve lines of text written diagonally in fine shikasteh, with the inscription 'Copied on Sunday evening'. 222 x 135 mm.3. Three couplets on a blue ground, signed 'Abd al-Majid [Taliqani], known as Darvish. He was the most accomplished scribe of shikasteh, and a poet with the pen-names Khamush and Darvish. His recorded works are dated between AH 1170/AD 1756-57 and AH 1185/AD 1771-72, the year he died. (See Mehdi Bayani, ahval va Asar-e Khosh-Nevisan, vol. IV, Tehran 1348 sh., pp. 252-54). It is possible that this is a 19th Century copy of his work. 140 x 183 mm.4. Seven lines of text, written diagonally in fine shikasteh, copied for Aqa Muhammad Mahdi Bika by 'Abd al-Majid Taliqani, known as Darvish, in AH 1180/AD 1766-67. As noted above, there are 19th century copies of 'Abd al-Majid's writings sometimes with an 18th Century date: this one appears to be original. 197 x 140 mm.5. Twelve lines of text, written diagonally in fine shikasteh, with the inscription 'Copied on Thursday evening of the month of Jumadi II'. 227 x 130 mm.6. Fourteen lines of text, written diagonally in fine shikasteh in the style of 'Abd al-Majid Taliqani, with the inscription 'It was copied in the house of [...] in the month of dhi'l-hajjah'. 205 x 145 mm.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * R* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com