Serdang - A copy of the oldest illuminated Quran in South-East Asia and a thousand-year-plus keris called Perabu are among the must-see artefacts that will be on display at an antique charity auction next week.
The Quran, which is 400 years old and owned by a Malaysian antique collector who declined to reveal his identity, is believed to be from Macassar, Sulawesi.
According to programme supervisor Dr Muhammad Pauzi Abd Latif, the Muslim holy book concerned has been authenticated as the oldest in the region by Dr Annabelle Teh Gallop, head of the South and South-East Asia section at the British Library in London.
Part of the proceeds from the charity auction will go towards financial aid for Universiti Putra Malaysia students who are facing problems paying their fees, he told a press conference here on Tuesday.
He said more than RM1mil was expected to be raised from the charity auction, adding that 80% of the items were owned by antique collector and licensed auctioner Radzuan Jamaluddin. The rest are from the Sultan Alam Shah Museum.
There will be 400 artefacts to be auctioned off and another 200 to be sold at the three-day event, which is scheduled to be launched by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said at Sultan Shah Alam Shah next Saturday, Oct 26.
There will also be a 400-year-old Ottoman era manuscript, Eastern ornaments and woven fabrics, diamond and ruby brooches from Malacca, and a floral silk fabric from Johor called “cindai,” which is claimed to have medicinal properties.
Legend has it that the Malay warrior Hang Jebat was able to hold out for seven days after being stabbed by Hang Tuah because he used cindai to dress his wound.
The keris Perabu, owned by Radzuan, is from the Demak period, long before Islam came to the region.
Other Asian antiques of interest are a piece of cloth used to cover the Kaabah in Mecca and blinds from China.
There will also be European antiques, including a 17th century polyphone radio, a second-generation Thomas Edison radio from 1898, a 100-year-plus-old Singer sewing machine and a 1915 US-made type writer.
Bidding prices for the artefacts start at RM5,000 and go all the way up to RM500,000.
Source: http://thestar.com.my (October 15, 2008)