The Culture Ministry addressed Christie’s auction house in London to stop the display and sale of a Quranic manuscript dating back to the Mamluk era in Egypt, Minister of Culture Enas Abdel Dayem said.
The manuscript is not recorded with the Ministry of Culture’s belongings, but the ministry addressed the auction house because the manuscript is a piece of Arab heritage that must be preserved, Abdel Dayem told Masrawy news website.
She explained that the ministry sent a delegate to the auction house to confirm that the Quranic manuscript is not registered on the list of the historical belongings of the Culture Ministry.
Christie’s House in London announced putting a Quranic manuscript dating back to the Mamluk era in Egypt up for sale with prices ranging from 500,000 to 800,000 sterling pounds.
The Quran bears the signature of Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Qa’it Bay, the Mamluk ruler of Egypt, and the date Jumada I 21 of the year 894 AH, corresponding to April 30 of the year 1489 AD.
