Lot 145: AN OTTOMAN ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT BIFOLIO FRONTISPIECE, TURKEY, 19TH CENTURY

This illuminated manuscript bifolio, likely serving as a frontispiece or double-page opening, is executed on paper using gold leaf and polychrome pigments. The composition features two large central stellate medallions containing the names Allah and Muhammad in white calligraphy set against a gold ground. Each central medallion is enclosed by a dense border of blue, red, and green floral and foliate motifs. Eight smaller cartouches surround these central elements, containing the names of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali) and the four archangels (Jibra’il, Mika’il, Israfil, and Izra’il) written in red script. The illumination style is consistent with 18th or 19th-century Ottoman or Persian decorative arts. The reverse of the paper shows the remnants of the illumination and historical repair work.

31 x 24cm