Manual of Islamic Devotions Dala'il al-Khayrat originally co...

Manual of Islamic Devotions Dala'il al-Khayrat originally composed by the Moroccan Sufi scholar Muhammad al-Jazuli [d.1465 CE; 870 AH in the Islamic calendar] A nineteenth century copy, written in a Sudani or Saharan script (or related) on a number of loose sheets held within stiff paper boards with a leather trim, the whole contained within a leather travelling wallet decorated with two worked leather roundels. Within the text are a number of geometric illustrations representing the Holy Kaaba in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, but beyond these, which are standard for a prayer manual of this nature are several other geometric designs representing other Islamic religious symbols. The cream coloured laid paper is watermarked 'Towgood Extra Fine' with a seated figure of Britannia. In the nineteenth century African scribes often sought out high quality British paper to work on as it held the iron gall ink better than locally produced paper and Towgood's Extra Fine was amongst the highest quality available at the period, somewhere between the 1840s and the 1870s suggesting that this was considered a luxury item. A few of the pages towards the front are adhering at points to the opposite page, probably having been exposed to damp at some point, but several have already loosened off and a good paper conservator would manage to free up the rest without causing much damage. The leather wallet shows signs of wear in some areas but remains a good example of this kind of leather work.

Estimate:£1,000

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