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

Accession Number: F1929.66

On View Location: Currently not on view

Classification(s): Manuscript

Type: Detached manuscript folio

Keywords: Afghanistan, decoupage, divan, illumination, Iran, nasta'liq script, Timurid period (1378 - 1506)

Provenance: Provenance information is currently unavailable

Previous Owner(s): Kirkor Minassian 1874 - 1944

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