24 October 2007

Quran sold for $2.3 million

Wow; this could actually be the oldest Quran in existence, written in 1203.

1203!

Mashalah, that's 803 years ago. Way before we were born. Way before our parents and their parents were born. Way before America was discovered. Way before even electricty was discovered! Way before even dinosaurs existed on this earth (ok, maybe not that old). Anyway, not much to say here, just read the article:


Record price for 13th-century Quran
October 24, 2007

LONDON - A Quran written in 1203, believed to be the oldest known complete copy, has sold for more than $2.3 million at an auction.

The holy book, which had been estimated to sell for up to $715,000, fetched $2,327,300 at Tuesday's auction in London, Christie's said.

That was a record auction price for a Quran or any type of Islamic manuscript, the auctioneer Christie's said.

A nearly complete, 10th-century Kufic Quran, thought to be from North Africa or the near East, sold $1,870,000. Both were offered for sale by the Hispanic Society of America, and were purchased by trade buyers in London, Christie's said.

The record-setting Quran was signed by Yahya bin Muhammad ibn 'Umar, dated 17 Ramadan 599 (June 1203).

It was acquired in Cairo in 1905 by Archer Milton Huntington, who founded the Hispanic Society in New York City in 1904. Huntington, the adopted son of railroad and ship-building magnate Collis P. Huntington, died in 1955.

The calligraphy in the manuscript was done in gold outlined in thin black lines, and the marginal notes are in silver outlined in red. The kufic Quran bridges a gap between the earlier style, copied on parchment of horizontal format, and the later style of vertical composition, often on paper, Christie's catalog said.

The kufic script takes its name from Kufah in Iraq, an early center of Islamic scholarship, according to the British Library. Because the script's vertical strokes were very short but the horizontal strokes elongated, it was written on papers in a landscape format.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

dinosaurs, my dear, lived on Earth between 230 and 65 millions years ago. but that was a nice try :)

KJ said...

That's an amazing price, I sincerely hope the money goes to a good cause.

Bravecat said...

Wow really amazing!

M said...

WOW!!!! as KJ said I also do hope that the money goes to a good cause!!

Anonymous said...

yeah ! it is amazing .. but nothing is value as qur2an is !! the 2 millions would never give the qur2an qeemtah !

Woozie said...

They spent two million dollars on a book?!?

Shionge said...

I'm impressed and fasccinated by this :D

Unknown said...

Mashallah! Traders bought it? I thought someone more interesting would have gotten it.

Michael Hendrickx said...

who bought it, any news about that?

Anonymous said...

Dear Sirs,

I have one trading company with head office located in Canada,

I have one holy Quran; souvenir from my fathers, this holy Quran has 350 years old,
This holy Quran has 500 sheets and write full holy Quran on it.

Now, I want to sell it, real price for this holy Quran is 3.5 Million USD.

if you want pictures from this quran i can make it.

If you have best offer please don’t hesitate with me.

Best Regards

m.tajaddod@tablicotrading.com

baburaj pookkattil said...

This is common,Those like the antique Islamic items they are ready to buy even if 2 or 5 millions.
I have a rare miniature holy quran a well reputed family tell me 4 million usd,still i am searching a good buyer,I know clearly this will fetch more than 5 million.
for more details
baburajpookkattil@gmail.com

montessori said...

I have also quraan like this
my e mail, muhafiz121@gmail.com
I want to sale plz contect me

Jeff Atwood said...

Well.. actually there are older Qurans in existance. My client has a gold gilded (yes, real gold) Quran from 750 A.D. The Quran was given by Muhammad's grandson to the Emperor of China during one of the many goodwill visits to China. THe emperor was buried with the Holy Book and it was unearthed in China in the 1980's. My client in California owns it and wishes to sell. We have certificates and photos if qualified buyers have interest. A similar gold Quran sold for $59.7M but it was not as old as this one. Contact me for information. JeffTatwood@yahoo.com
ExoticArtifactImports.com

Unknown said...

sir,
I have a 426 year old hand written QURAN SHAREFF which is certified.

I want to sell it.

if interested contact on johnmac493@gmail.com

I can send photos etc

regards

john mac