The Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdausi (d. 1020)
Terms of Use
Usage Conditions ApplyAt A Glance
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Period
early 17th century -
Geography
Iran -
Material
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper -
Dimension
H x W (overall): 38.1 x 21.2 cm (15 x 8 3/8 in) -
Accession Number
F1907.279 -
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_F1907.279
Object Details
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Description
Manuscript; Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; Persian in black nasta'liq script; headings in white; 540 folios with illuminated double frontispiece (fols. 1 verso, 2 recto, and 2 verso, 3 recto), 2 sarlawh (fols. 3, 9 verso), 30 paintings, 1 dated colophon (folio 539 recto), and a finispiece (fols. 539 verso, 540 recto); seals (folio1 recto); inscription (folio 1 recto); standard page: 4 columns, 22 lines of text.Binding: The manuscript is bound in red-brown leather over paper pasteboards with blind tooling and a border of geometric motifs. The doublures are of marbled paper with a James Caulfield Coat of Arms. -
Inscriptions
Folio 1 recto: uragh panjhezar va si va nuh [?] musavvar si va se, chand ruz be 'ariyat bamast."Number of pages five thousand and thirty-nine [?] paintings thirty-three, it is borrowed for a few days."Shahnama-i musavvar pishkesh Mirza Shah Sahib Adilshah rozi ke Nawab Suleyman be manzel Amir Muhammad Mo'men rafte bodand nemudand. Betarikh dovum Shahr Shaval sene [1?17]."Illustrated Shahnama, gift of Mirza Shah Sahib Adilshah, the day when Nawab Suleyman went to the house of Amir Muhammad Mo'men; 2, Shaval [1?17]."Seal of Sultan Muhammad Gotb Shah.Colophon 539 recto: Tamat al-ketab-i Shahnama Hakim Ferdowsi be tarikh [?] shahr Sha'ban sene [?].Colophon 539 recto: Tamat al-ketab-i Shahnama Hakim Ferdowsi be tarikh [?] shahr Sha'ban sene [?]. -
Provenance
To 1907Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914), London, to 1907 [1]From 1907 to 1919Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna in 1907 [2]From 1920Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]Notes:[1] See Original List of Persian Miniatures and Manuscripts, pg. 95, andMiscellaneous section of Inventory, S.I. 1591, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.[2] See note 1.[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery. -
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection -
Exhibition History
Near Eastern Art (June 15, 1973 to May 7, 1975) -
Previous custodian or owner
Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914) (C.L. Freer source)Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) -
Origin
Iran -
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer -
Type
Manuscript -
Restrictions and Rights
Usage Conditions Apply
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