LEADIN: The hand-written printer's copy of the first Arab-English dictionary is one of the headline lots at a series of London auctions celebrating Islamic Art Week in the capital. Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses are selling rare and important Islamic works - including early Qu'ranic manuscripts from Tunisia; Egyptian Fatimid rock-crystal bottles and a 16th Century Turkish carpet expected to make over half a million dollars. STORYLINE: This is the first Arabic-English Lexicon, which began to be written in the 1840s - and is still used by scholars today. It is the life work of eminent British Orientalist, Edward William Lane and is the star lot at Sotheby's upcoming auction of Arts of the Islamic World. "So what I'm standing in front of at the moment looks like a huge archive, it's actually two works. One of them is the printer's copy of Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon, which was probably his greatest achievement of the 19th Century eminent Orientalists and Egyptologists. It's an Arabic-English dictionary," says Benedict Carter, from Sotheby's. "He originally thought it would take him eight years and it took him 34 years - half his life. It was sponsored by the fourth Duke of Northumberland who was the patron of it for his, the entirety and then when he died his widow carried on funding it. So it was a huge body of work that still remains one of the most important lexicographical sources today." This version of the Lexicon is sold as it was presented to publishers and is written largely in Lane's own hand. It is expected to make up to 482,550 US dollars when it goes under the hammer. Lane travelled to Egypt at the age of 24 and became fascinated by Middle Eastern culture - he quickly adopted their dress and language. "Lane has lived amongst the locals, he dressed in local dress, he spoke fluent Arabic and he did a number of things, he was a writer, he wrote a description of the Egyptians, he also translated 1001 Nights. Wrote a number of things and then it had been an idea for a long time to do a dictionary and eventually he got around to it on his third visit to Cairo, in 1840 I think," says Carter. The dictionary will go under the hammer in London at a Sotheby's auction on 8 October. Auction house Christie's is also auctioning a collection of rare and important Arabic texts. This version of the Qu'ran was produced in northern India in 1687 - it is almost Byzantine in style, with rich blue paper illuminated by gold text. It is expected to make up to 13,000 US dollars. Middle East expert Sara Plumbly is from Christie's. She explains: "So we have really a wonderful selection of Islamic manuscripts in this sale. We have a number of early Kufic Qu'ran folios, which are among the earliest production of Qu'ran manuscripts in the near east and north Africa." These sections of the Qu'ran originate from 9/10th Century North Africa (most probably Tunisia). The manuscript is printed on vellum with dark sepia kufic with red dots to mark the vocalisations. These old Kufic manuscripts are expected to make up 41,000 US dollars at auction. Plumbly also leafs through another of the auction's highlights - this time an illustrated Persian poetry book from 16th Century Iran. It is a work by Sufi poet Amir Khusraw Dihlawi and is expected to make up to 250,000 US dollars. This tiny rock-crystal vase might not look special to the untrained eye, but experts have valued it at up to 120,000 US dollars. It is from 10th Century Fatimid Egypt, at a time when carving in rock crystal was particularly popular. Its precise purpose is not known, but it is believed to have been used as a perfume vessel. "It's remarkable to have an example that's survived so well and stood the test of time," says Plumbly. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/32a7e6bb68137051e82179e1b7c6022e Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 03 Aug 2015
• views: 0