Al-Jazuli, Dala'il al-Khayrat wa shawariq al-anwar, prayers in praise of the Prophet Muhammad, with two stylised depictions of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina Kashmir, late 18th/19th Century


Arabic manuscript on paper, 99 leaves, 13 lines to the page written in neat naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black on a gold ground within interlinear rules, significant words and phrases in red, inner margins ruled in blue, gold and orange and with a border of floral motifs in colours and gold, outer margins ruled in gold, blue and green, double-page illuminated frontispiece in colours and gold, a double page at the beginning, and another at the end, with illuminated roundels incorporating the title of the work and prayers in praise of the Prophet in white naskhi script on a gold ground, seven further double pages of illumination, two stylised depictions in colours and gold of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, three leaves at beginning and three at end of manuscript with further text written in a personal hand in naskhi and nasta'liq script consisting of Arabic and Persian prayers according to the Qadiri sufi sect, contemporary painted floral papier mache boards in a Qajar style, doublures with floral sprays in a Kashmiri style, rebacked 190 x 120 mm.