Folio from Divan (collected poems) of Sultan Husayn Mirza (d.1506); calligraphy

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Divan (collected poems) by Sultan Husayn Mirza; Eastern Turkish in white nasta’liq script with the title in an illuminated band; verses of poem executed in qat’ (cut-out technique); one of a group of two folios (with F1929.67)
Border: Folio is on a green ground, set in gold and white rulings on gold- sprinkled paper.

Maker(s)
Author: Sultan Husayn Mirza (1470-1506)
Historical period(s)
Timurid period, Reign of Sultan Husayn Mirza, ca.1490
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 17.6 x 12.4 cm (6 15/16 x 4 7/8 in)
Geography
Afghanistan, Herat
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1929.66
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
Afghanistan, decoupage, divan, illumination, Iran, nasta'liq script, Timurid period (1378 - 1506)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Divan (collected poems) by Sultan Husayn Mirza; Eastern Turkish in white nasta'liq script with the title in an illuminated band; verses of poem executed in qat' (cut-out technique); one of a group of two folios (with F1929.67)
Border: Folio is on a green ground, set in gold and white rulings on gold- sprinkled paper.

Label

Written in Turkish, this folio is from a copy of the collected works of the last Timurid ruler, Sultan Husayn Bayqara (reigned 1470-1506), and is executed in a technique known as qata'i (decoupage).  Instead of writing in ink, individual letters are cut out of different colored paper and pasted on a contrasting background.  The art of decoupage, which originated in late-fifteenth-century Herat, required tremendous skill, dexterity, and imagination.

Published References
  • The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. Washington and New York. p. 206.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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