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Source Description
Walters manuscript W.607 is an illuminated and illustrated Safavid copy of 4 of the 5 poems that comprise the Khamsah (quintet) of Nizami Ganjavi (died 605 AH/AD 1209). It does not include Laylá va Majnun. The text was copied in black Nasta'liq script by Yadkar the Calligrapher (al-Katib) in 935 AH/AD 1529. An illuminated double-page frontispiece opens the codex (fols. 1b-2a), and each poem is introduced with an illuminated headpiece (fols. 33b, 119b, 180b, and 261b). The 27 illustrations appear to have been repainted in India during the 12th or early 13th century AH/AD 18th or early 19th. The manuscript is bound in late Zand lacquer boards with figural scenes depicting Bahram Gur hunting and Khusraw watching Shirin bathing. The upper board illustrating Bahram Gur is dated 12[0]5 AH/AD 1790-1791.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
17718
label
Five Poems (Quintet)
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
17718
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Five Poems (Quintet)
description
Walters manuscript W.607 is an illuminated and illustrated Safavid copy of 4 of the 5 poems that comprise the Khamsah (quintet) of Nizami Ganjavi (died 605 AH/AD 1209). It does not include Laylá va Majnun. The text was copied in black Nasta'liq script by Yadkar the Calligrapher (al-Katib) in 935 AH/AD 1529. An illuminated double-page frontispiece opens the codex (fols. 1b-2a), and each poem is introduced with an illuminated headpiece (fols. 33b, 119b, 180b, and 261b). The 27 illustrations appear to have been repainted in India during the 12th or early 13th century AH/AD 18th or early 19th. The manuscript is bound in late Zand lacquer boards with figural scenes depicting Bahram Gur hunting and Khusraw watching Shirin bathing. The upper board illustrating Bahram Gur is dated 12[0]5 AH/AD 1790-1791.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
934-935 AH/AD 1528-1529 (Safavid)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
illuminated manuscripts
largeImageUrl
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
30
height
18
dimensionsRaw
Folio H: 11 13/16 x W: 7 1/16 in. (30 x 18 cm)
Source extras
cul
Islamic
dynasty
Safavid Dynasty
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14295
med
ink and pigments on cream-colored laid paper covered with lacquer and red leather doublures with gold
creator_ids
7689
8280
collection_ids
MSS
ISL
MIS
exhibition_ids
579
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c2808a54670661cb