Ask the Scholar

Document scope · 1 page
obj
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory. For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.

Source Description

This pavilion scene from Walters manuscript W.624 depicts the Armenian princess Shirin welcoming Khusraw in Armenia. The illustration is the work of ('amal-i) Manuhar. This is a deluxe copy of the Khamsah (quintet) of Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī (d. 725 AH / 1325 CE). The manuscript was written in nastaʿlīq script by one of the greatest calligraphers of the Mughal atelier, Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Kashmīrī, honored with the epithet Zarrīn Qalam (golden pen). This copy of Dihlavī's Khamsah, likely produced in Lahore (present-day Pakistan) in the late tenth century AH / sixteenth CE, is associated with the patronage of Akbar (r. 963-1014 AH / 1556-1605 CE). The manuscript bears the names of a number of painters and illuminators. The illustrations bear ascriptions to the following artists: Laʿl (Lāl), Manūhar, Sānwalah, Farrukh, Alīqulī, Dharamdās, Narsing, Jagannāth, Miskīnā, Mukund, and Sūrdās Gujarātī. The illuminators are Ḥusayn Naqqāsh, Manṣūr Naqqāsh, Khvājah Jān Shīrāzī, and Luṭf Allāh Muẕahhib. The borders are all elaborately illuminated with animal, bird, and geometric motifs, as well as human figures engaged in such activities as hunting, praying, and reading. The lacquer binding, decorated with pictorial scenes, is contemporary with the manuscript. Eight leaves from this copy of the Khamsah of Dihlavī are housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (13.228.26-33).

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
31354
label
Shirin Entertains Khusraw
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
31354
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Shirin Entertains Khusraw
description
This pavilion scene from Walters manuscript W.624 depicts the Armenian princess Shirin welcoming Khusraw in Armenia. The illustration is the work of ('amal-i) Manuhar. This is a deluxe copy of the Khamsah (quintet) of Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī (d. 725 AH / 1325 CE). The manuscript was written in nastaʿlīq script by one of the greatest calligraphers of the Mughal atelier, Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Kashmīrī, honored with the epithet Zarrīn Qalam (golden pen). This copy of Dihlavī's Khamsah, likely produced in Lahore (present-day Pakistan) in the late tenth century AH / sixteenth CE, is associated with the patronage of Akbar (r. 963-1014 AH / 1556-1605 CE). The manuscript bears the names of a number of painters and illuminators. The illustrations bear ascriptions to the following artists: Laʿl (Lāl), Manūhar, Sānwalah, Farrukh, Alīqulī, Dharamdās, Narsing, Jagannāth, Miskīnā, Mukund, and Sūrdās Gujarātī. The illuminators are Ḥusayn Naqqāsh, Manṣūr Naqqāsh, Khvājah Jān Shīrāzī, and Luṭf Allāh Muẕahhib. The borders are all elaborately illuminated with animal, bird, and geometric motifs, as well as human figures engaged in such activities as hunting, praying, and reading. The lacquer binding, decorated with pictorial scenes, is contemporary with the manuscript. Eight leaves from this copy of the Khamsah of Dihlavī are housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (13.228.26-33).
provenance
Muhammad Zaki, 1241 AH/AD 1825-1826 [1]; 'abd al-raji Muhammad Shafi', 1247 AH/AD 1831-1832 [2]; Muhammad 'Ali [3]; Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.[1] Oval seal, fols. 1a, 211a[2] Rectangular seal fols. 1a, 211a[3] Large oval seal with no date on fol. 211a
date
1597-1598 (Mughal)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
illuminated manuscripts
folios (leaves)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
28.5
height
19
dimensionsRaw
H: 11 1/4 x W: 7 1/2 in. (28.5 x 19 cm)
Source extras
cul
Islamic
style
Mughal
dynasty
Mughal Dynasty
med
ink and paint on laid paper
creator_ids
4748
7404
7405
collection_ids
MSS
ISL
MIS
exhibition_ids
2664
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
8c1ae53fff52ba73