Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
Javascript must be enabled to continue!
Illustrated Manuscript of poetry by Maktabi Shirazi, Vahshi Bafqi, and Naw’i Khabushani
View through Harvard Museums
Bound between fine lacquer covers, this anthology contains three tragic love poems: Layli va Majnun by Maktabi Shirazi (d. circa 1510); Farhad va Shirin by Vahshi Bafqi (d. 1583); and Suz va Gudaz (Burning and Melting) by Naw`i Khabushani (d. circa 1610). A colophon following Maktabi’s poem gives the date and place of completion as 22 Shawwal 1254 (January 8, 1838) in Fars. The patron's name is given as Muhammad Hasan Khan, son of the Qajar ruler Fath `Ali Shah. The small manuscript opens with double illuminated text pages which are copied in shikasta nasta`liq in two columns and 15 lines to a page. There are a total of 42 paintings illustrating the texts.
The outer covers of the binding feature two scenes from the story of Khusraw and Shirin: on the front Shirin visits Farhad at Mount Bisutun; and on the back Khusraw spies on the bathing Shirin. The inner covers bear monumental standing figures of an elderly (front) and a youthful (back) dervish. Each carries a begging bowl filled with flowers and hefts an axe on his shoulder. These figures reflect wall paintings in the Haft Tan mausoleum in Shiraz.
Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar Geneva Switzerland (by 2014) by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar Houston Texas (2014) gift; to Harvard Art Museums 2014.
Note:
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market.
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum Gift of A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar
Title: Illustrated Manuscript of poetry by Maktabi Shirazi, Vahshi Bafqi, and Naw’i Khabushani
Description:
Bound between fine lacquer covers, this anthology contains three tragic love poems: Layli va Majnun by Maktabi Shirazi (d.
circa 1510); Farhad va Shirin by Vahshi Bafqi (d.
1583); and Suz va Gudaz (Burning and Melting) by Naw`i Khabushani (d.
circa 1610).
A colophon following Maktabi’s poem gives the date and place of completion as 22 Shawwal 1254 (January 8, 1838) in Fars.
The patron's name is given as Muhammad Hasan Khan, son of the Qajar ruler Fath `Ali Shah.
The small manuscript opens with double illuminated text pages which are copied in shikasta nasta`liq in two columns and 15 lines to a page.
There are a total of 42 paintings illustrating the texts.
The outer covers of the binding feature two scenes from the story of Khusraw and Shirin: on the front Shirin visits Farhad at Mount Bisutun; and on the back Khusraw spies on the bathing Shirin.
The inner covers bear monumental standing figures of an elderly (front) and a youthful (back) dervish.
Each carries a begging bowl filled with flowers and hefts an axe on his shoulder.
These figures reflect wall paintings in the Haft Tan mausoleum in Shiraz.
Related Results
Woman Committing Sati, folio from an Album
Woman Committing Sati, folio from an Album
This painting dramatically represents a young woman about to commit sati, or self-immolation. The literary subject of a woman’s sacrificing herself on the funeral pyre of her dead ...
Illustrated Manuscript of Layla and Majnun by Hamdi
Illustrated Manuscript of Layla and Majnun by Hamdi
This is a small illustrated copy of Hamdi’s Layla and Majnun. Hamdi (d. 1503) was an Ottoman poet who wrote his Layla and Majnun in Turkish in 1499 after the famous Persian work of...
Bathing Maidens Observed by the Master of the Garden, illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Haft Paykar of Nizami
Bathing Maidens Observed by the Master of the Garden, illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Haft Paykar of Nizami
This small painting has been carefully, if unfortunately, cut from a manuscript page, preserving the pictorial elements that extended beyond the gold ruling. The opposite side of t...
Rustam Slays the White Div (text recto; painting verso of folio 83), illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
Rustam Slays the White Div (text recto; painting verso of folio 83), illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
This manuscript is the first volume of a two-volume Shahnama by Firdawsi with further Shahnama inspired interpolated texts from the Garshaspnama and the Barzunama. The manuscript h...
Court of Gayumars (text recto; painting verso of folio 15), Illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
Court of Gayumars (text recto; painting verso of folio 15), Illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
This manuscript is the first volume of a two-volume Shahnama by Firdawsi with further Shahnama inspired interpolated texts from the Garshaspnama and the Barzunama. The manuscript h...