Priceless collection

A Pakistani art collector based in Dubai claims to own more than 10,000 antique Persian and Arabic books and more than 5,000 old handwritten copies of the Holy Quran.

Syed Zafar, who is planning to open an art gallery in Dubai, claimed that his collection contains the rarest ancient literature, including titles on medicine, history and law.

"Among my art collection is a rare copy of the Holy Quran. It is one of the smallest ancient copies. But its most important feature is its shape. It was designed some 400 to 500 years ago in a unique octagonal shape," explained 33-year-old Zafar, who comes from Mekran region of Pakistan's Baluchistan province.

The completely hand-written copy is 4.5cm in diameter and 2cm thick. According to Zafar, it is the only known copy with this unique shape. Most copies are usually rectangular. The Holy Quran is handwritten in natural ink and gold. The script covers 3.5cm of each page. The cover is made of thick paper and leather, with an embossed floral design.

"It is one of my best assets. It's a Mughul-era Quran, written in the ancient Khat-e-Nuskha calligraphy," he said. The first Sura of the Quran is written in gold, while the rest have an octagonal boundary in gold.

Zafar began his hobby of collecting antiques about 12 years ago after his graduation in economics from Karachi. "The hobby began with collecting and preserving old household items, such as traditional silver jewellery and copper and bronze utensils. My interest in an art collection grew after reading about antiquities," he said.

He revealed that his first collection comprised silver jewellery and precious and semi-precious stones which his mother and aunt were planning to exchange for new ornaments at the local goldsmith.

"I stopped them from swapping the family jewellery just in time. Since I had some knowledge about antiques, I knew they were worth much more than the new gold or silver jewellery they would receive in the swap," Zafar recalled.

Although he started collecting antiques 12 years ago, his love of the old began during his college days, inspired by a friend's coins and currency note collection. "To be honest, that love of art later helped me prevent our family jewels handed down for generations from being swapped for new ornaments."

During his college days, Zafar also started reading literature on antiques and visiting museums to learn about the country's ancient heritage. "Now I have more than 10,000 ancient handwritten books in Arabic and Persian. Most of these books are from 200 to 500 years old. I also have more than 5,000 old handwritten copies of the Holy Quran in different styles and sizes," he claimed.

His collection includes 10,000 postal stamps, 800 silver, gold, bronze and stone coins. Among his Holy Quran collection is another Mughul-era copy of normal size. The copy is written in Khat-e-Bihar calligraphy, with its first three and the two centre pages in coloured script, with lapis lazuli and gold dominating the design.

He also possesses a history book on the Abbasi era, handwritten in 1054 of the Islamic Hijra calender. The book is called World History and Abbasi Era, and has coloured illustrations depicting historical events during the Abbasi era.

He plans to open an art gallery in Dubai to display some of his collection for art collectors to visit and study.

"I've already turned my house back home into a mini museum, mainly with local artefacts collected from villagers and nearby towns. They mostly reflect Baluchi culture and the tradition of Mekran from where I come from," he said.