TEHRAN – One of the masterpieces of illuminated Quran in the world is being kept at the National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI).

Known as Qazvini Quran, the Qajar-era (1789–1925) manuscript was written in naskh by Zein al-Abedin Qazvini, who was one of the masters of calligraphy and the special scriber for Fath Ali Shah, a Qajar monarch who reigned from 1797 to 1834.

Dating back to 1805, the exquisite and precious Quran has over 600 different illuminations from every school of illumination that existed in Iran at the time, which is one of the reasons that makes it a unique work.

Nearly four kilos of pure gold and precious stones were used in illuminating it and 35 masters of art worked on it for about 10 years.

The unique features of this Quran, which remained in the Qazvini family for generations, had led some Saudi and English collectors to buy it in any way possible, but the last owner refused to send Quran to abroad and it was sold to NLAI in 2008.

ABU/MG