Bidspirit auction | AN ILLUMINATED SUFI GENEALOGICAL SCROLL

AN ILLUMINATED SUFI GENEALOGICAL SCROLL SILSILA OF THE DARQAWIYYA ORDER, 19TH CENTURY. - This object is a long Sufi genealogical scroll, known as a silsila-nama or shajara, documenting the spiritual lineage of the Darqawiyya order. The manuscript is executed in black ink, gold leaf, and polychrome pigments on paper. The scroll is protected at its commencement by a length of rough-textured, brown leather hide, which serves as an outer wrapper when the item is rolled. The top of the scroll features an elaborate illuminated header with a scalloped arch containing polychrome floral motifs in blue, pink, and green against a gold ground. Below this is a large Basmala written in elongated Thuluth script. A central feature of the upper section is a detailed illustration of a Sufi dervish cap or Taj, decorated with green, red, and yellow geometric patterns reminiscent of mosaic work. This is surrounded by calligraphic inscriptions in circular frames. Below the cap is a large circular medallion or shamsa containing the name of the Prophet Muhammad surrounded by religious honorifics, set against a background of dense gold foliate scrollwork. The body of the scroll consists of a spiritual lineage represented as a tree. Numerous names of Sufi masters and saints are contained within circular gold-bordered medallions, connected by red lines to show the succession of authority. One of the primary panels bears the name Mawlay al-Arabi ibn Ahmad al-Darqawi, identifying the scroll with the Darqawiyya Sufi order founded by Mawlay al-Arabi al-Darqawi (d. 1823). Other medallions contain names of figures in the Shadhiliyya lineage. The background throughout is decorated with fine gold leaf floral and leaf patterns. The manuscript utilises several styles of Arabic calligraphy, including Thuluth for prominent headings and a neat Naskh or Maghrebi-influenced script for the genealogical names. Approximately 232 x 23.5cm