Detached folio frontispiece from a Khamsa (Quintet) by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (died 1325)

Detached frontispiece from a dispersed copy of the Khamsa (Quintet) by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi; text: Persian in black nasta’liq script; recto: flyleaf inscription, oval seal; verso: right-hand half of a double page frontispiece, text, prologue to the Khamsa and illuminated cartouche with inscription; recto: left hand-half of a double-page frontispiece, text, poem and illuminated cartouche with the name of Bahram Mirza, verso, text: poem, two columns, nine lines.
Border: the text is set in an illuminated border on a gold-sprinkled paper.

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Maker(s)
Patron: Abu'l-Fath Bahram Mirza
Historical period(s)
Safavid period, ca. 1530-1540
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 30.2 x 18.3 cm (11 7/8 x 7 3/16 in)
Geography
Iran, Tabriz
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1986.67.1-2
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, illumination, Iran, Khamsa, Safavid period (1501 - 1722), WWII-era provenance
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Detached frontispiece from a dispersed copy of the Khamsa (Quintet) by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: flyleaf inscription, oval seal; verso: right-hand half of a double page frontispiece, text, prologue to the Khamsa and illuminated cartouche with inscription; recto: left hand-half of a double-page frontispiece, text, poem and illuminated cartouche with the name of Bahram Mirza, verso, text: poem, two columns, nine lines.
Border: the text is set in an illuminated border on a gold-sprinkled paper.

Inscription(s)

Fol. 1recto: " on Tuesday the twenty-fourth of the month of Sha'ban of one thousand three hundred and seven of hegira [A.D. August 28, 1889], in the abode of the Sultanate Tabriz, I came to see his Excellency [?] Hajji Mirza [Rafikhan], the chancellor of the office of the treasury...Khan. He presented this book of the Khamsa of Amir Khusraw to me as a gift and I was grateful, and bestowed it upon Aqa Mirza Sami' Khan Mustawfi, his son. I am the slave [of God] Hasan Ali."; oval seal: Amir Nizam, [A.H.] 1302, [A.D. 1885].
Fol.1 verso: upper illuminated cartouche: "The Khamsa of [His] Highness Amir Khusraw"; lower illuminated cartouche: "for the use of the library of Shahryar."
Fol. 2recto: upper illuminated cartouche: " Upon him benediction and pardon"; lower illuminated cartouche “Abu'l-Fath Bahram Jam, as powerful as Jamshid."

Published References
  • Sheila R. Canby. Manuscript Illumination in Safavid Iran, 1501-1722. Center 26 Washington. p. 74.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 37, pp. 135-137.
  • Hunt for Paradise: Court Arts of Safavid Iran, 1501-1576. Exh. cat. Milan. p. 146, fig. 5.5.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Milo Cleveland Beach, Elisabeth West FitzHugh, Susan Nemanzee, Janet Snyder. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 200-201, pp. 170-171.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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