Rare Quran inscribed by Aurangzeb, to be auctioned
A 300-year-old manuscript of the holy Quran, parts of which were inscribed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, will soon be auctioned by its Emirati owner in Germany, a news report here has said.
The 14.5x24 cm manuscript was part of the collection of the Mughal emperors of India, and was made during the rule of Aurangzeb.It will be auctioned at the Auktionshaus Sebök (Seboek auction house) in the German city of Bamberg by its current Emirati owner, the Gulf News report said.
The current owner of the manuscript acquired the ancient copy of the Quran from his great-grandfather who had been governor to Oudh, a northern region in India, and had served the Mughal dynasty.
Before the British Raj had dismissed the last Mughal emperor, he had asked his loyal confidants to select gifts from his collection for themselves.
The great-grandfather of the current owner had personally selected the manuscript, and it has since been passed down through generations of the family.According to the owner, who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, the manuscript has lavish golden insets and consists of sheets of paper, handcrafted from rice and natural materials.
The script is written in ink made from valuable minerals, and it is inlaid with ruby, lapis lazuli and garnet.
Aurungzeb is known to have inscribed several passages of the manuscript himself and he had reserved a special section of his palace for the artists who completed it, the report said.
Stefan Sebök, an auctioneer at the auction house, told the newspaper that the starting price for the item has been set at USD 1,153.
"The manuscript is extremely rare and was passed down to the last of the Mughal emperors by Emperor Aurangzeb. So we expect it to receive one of the highest bids at our art and antique auction in October," Sebök told the newspaper.
Sebök also said that a comparable manuscript was sold to the Sultan of Brunei in 2006 for USD 10 million, and a similar item went to an anonymous bidder for USD 4.3 million.
