Illuminated frontispiece, left-hand side of a bifolio from a manuscript of the Khulasa al-Akhbar
16th century
Description
Together with # 2002.50.127, these pages served as the opening to a manuscript of the Khulasat al-akhbar (Quintessence of Histories), the first historical work of Ghiyath al-Din ibn Humam al-Din Khvandamir, composed in 1499–1500 in Herat. The work is an abridged version of the Rawdat al-safa (Garden of Purity), by the famous Timurid historian Mirkhvand, who was Khvandamir’s grandfather. The text of this frontispiece, written in white nasta'liq script, conveys blessings and gives the title of the work and a very short description of its nature: that it presents, “in the best words of historians, the annals of prophets and kings, starting with Adam.” The rich illumination combines floral scrollwork, cloudbands, and abstract medallion-and-pendant and trefoil forms on a blue-and-gold ground. The pages mirror each other, forming a lavish introduction to the manuscript.
Dimensions
28.8 x 17.5 cm (11 5/16 x 6 7/8 in.)
Provenance
[Mansour Gallery, London, 1994], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1994-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
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