634 Pair of Large Antique Safavid Persian Lacquered Manuscript Book Cover Bindings

Antique Safavid Persian Lacquered Manuscript Book Cover

Outstanding work of art

Highly saturated colors

This pair is from Iran which had been producing lacquer bindings of this format for the several centuries.

The art uses a technique in which some parts that need highlighting are raised - like in embossing.

Reasonable condition with some chipping and paint loss. The back is not perfect as these have been dismounted from a frame.

The covers measure 14.3 x 9 inches or 36.5 x 23 cm.

[Normal book covers are about two-thirds this size]

The colors are a feast for the eyes.

Estimated to be from the early 1700s

[This was earlier stated as Qajar - but I stand corrected by a Persian scholar who pointed out that this is a Safavid artwork]

LITERATURE REF: Ludwig V. Habighorst, Moghul Ragamala, Koblenz 2006, fig.19, p.58.
(Tim Stanley, "The rise of the Lacquer Binding", in Jon Thompson and Sheila R. Canby (eds.),
The Hunt for Paradise, exhibition catalogue, Milan, 2003, pp.184-201).

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This item has spent a lifetime being used for the purpose of its creation with the original artist/user. Signs of this life lived heartily may be present on the piece in the form of stains, thread loss, loose threads, holes, tears, color run and other imperfections. Therefore the condition must be assumed to be “not” perfect. More photos of such imperfections will be provided on request.

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