TWO TALISMANIC SCROLLS OF SHI'A PRAYERS
Iran, 18th - 19th century

Comprising a talismanic and prayer scroll, Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper, in black and red inks naskh and nasta'liq scripts, set within green rules, the heading decorated with a bird in profile atop a tall cypress tree formed in ghubari script, featuring a grid chart containing words from sura al-Ikhlas (112), followed by a passant lion in ghubari script, above instructions on the use of the prayer in Persian, followed by the Arabic text, the borders of alternating black and red prayers, laid on white cotton, wrapped in a curved dark brown morocco leather strap embellished with a polychrome brocade ribbon opening, 208cm x 6.2cm; and another similar, Arabic manuscript on paper, in black and puce ink naskh script, featuring the ‘105 prayers' and sura al-Ikhlas (112) among other prayers, the heading in polylobed cartouches, the rest in chequered grid format, set within silver rules, laid on white cotton, in a curved morocco leather strap with a polychrome brocade ribbon opening, a 5cm length of Imperial Persian ribbon to the interior of the leather strap, the purple silk brocaded in precious metal thread with the Qajar emblem of the Shir o Khorshid (Lion and Sun) within an open laurel wreath, 186cm x 7.3cm.

Provenance: Galerie Fischer, Lucerne (CH), 'Persische Manuskripte und Miniaturen' auction, 4 December 1968, lots 1276 and 1277.