Section of al-Bukhari’s al-Jami‘ al-Sahih

Location: probably Egypt

Materials: ink, gold and opaque watercolour on paper; contemporary blind-tooled leather covers, damaged and restored

Dimensions: 252 folios; 30.5 x 21cm

Accession Number: MSS 311

Other Notes:

This is the sixth volume of a multi-volume set of al-Jami‘ al-Sahih by the famous 9th-century scholar al-Bukhari. It begins with the last chapter of book 65 (kitab tafsir al-Qur’an) and ends in the middle of book 79 (kitab isti’dhan). The crucial importance of the Sahih in the study and teaching of Islamic law made it an essential work in any madrasah library. It was also publicly read, for example in Ottoman Turkey, on evenings in Ramadan. Its liturgical use explains why so many copies of it were finely calligraphed and illuminated.

Script:

copied in naskh script; 15 lines to the page

Bibliography:

J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.201, p.170.