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Source Description
Walters manuscript W.649 is an illuminated and illustrated copy of the poem Suz va gudaz (Burning and melting) by Naw'i Khabushani (d. 1019 AH/AD 1610), which recounts the love story of a Hindu girl who burns herself on the funeral pyre of her betrothed. The codex was written in Nasta'liq in black ink by Ibn Sayyid Murad al-Husayni and illustrated by Muhammad 'Ali Mashhadi in 1068 AH/AD 1657. According to the colophon, Ibn Sayyid Murad al-Husayni copied the manuscript for the painter Muhammad 'Ali, the "Mani of the time," as a "souvenir." The fact that the manuscript was produced for one of the most prolific artists of 17th-century Iran makes it a highly significant document. It opens with an illuminated incipit with headpiece (fol. 1b) and closes with an illuminated tailpiece with colophon (fol. 21b). Text pages have interlinear illumination and small rectangular and triangular pieces with polychrome floral and scrolling vine motifs. There are 8 miniatures in a style associated with the Safavid centers of artistic production of Mashhad and Isfahan (fols. 5a, 9a, 10b, 13a, 14a, 16a, 17b, and 19b).
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
30391
label
Burning and Melting
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
30391
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Burning and Melting
description
Walters manuscript W.649 is an illuminated and illustrated copy of the poem Suz va gudaz (Burning and melting) by Naw'i Khabushani (d. 1019 AH/AD 1610), which recounts the love story of a Hindu girl who burns herself on the funeral pyre of her betrothed. The codex was written in Nasta'liq in black ink by Ibn Sayyid Murad al-Husayni and illustrated by Muhammad 'Ali Mashhadi in 1068 AH/AD 1657. According to the colophon, Ibn Sayyid Murad al-Husayni copied the manuscript for the painter Muhammad 'Ali, the "Mani of the time," as a "souvenir." The fact that the manuscript was produced for one of the most prolific artists of 17th-century Iran makes it a highly significant document. It opens with an illuminated incipit with headpiece (fol. 1b) and closes with an illuminated tailpiece with colophon (fol. 21b). Text pages have interlinear illumination and small rectangular and triangular pieces with polychrome floral and scrolling vine motifs. There are 8 miniatures in a style associated with the Safavid centers of artistic production of Mashhad and Isfahan (fols. 5a, 9a, 10b, 13a, 14a, 16a, 17b, and 19b).
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1068 AH/AD 1657 (Safavid; Mughal)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
illuminated manuscripts
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
23.5
height
14.5
dimensionsRaw
Folio H: 9 1/4 x W: 5 11/16 in. (23.5 x 14.5 cm)
Source extras
cul
Islamic
dynasty
Safavid Dynasty
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80057
80056
80055
80054
80053
80052
med
ink and pigments on laid paper covered with black leather; red goatskin
creator_ids
16860
16859
16858
collection_ids
MSS
ISL
MIS
exhibition_ids
2827
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
2009b83959304b9e