ManuscriptsPersian20th century

Manuscript of the Risala-yi Hummiyat (Treatise on Fevers) by Abu al-Qasim al-Na’ini al-Isfahani

dated 1901

Description

The manuscript of 40 folios opens with an illuminated sarlawh above the text, which is copied in nasta`liq in 11 lines to a page. According to the colophon the manuscript was copied by Davud Gulpayagani on Friday 8 Ramadan 1319 (19 December 1901). Tuhfa-yi Nasiriyya is a book in traditional medicine written in Persian by Abu al-Qasim Na’ini Isfahani (1245-1322/1829-1904), who was a prominent doctor at the court of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and enjoyed the sobriquet Sultan al-Hukama’ (King of doctors). The subject of the book is different kinds of fevers and their treatments. The red leather binding is decorated with three plain frames in gold on the outside and is covered with marbled paper on the inside. The preface states it was written for Mirza Ali Asghar Khan Atabak known as Amin al-Sultan (1858-1907), who was the last prime minister under Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar.

Classification

Manuscripts

Medium

Ink, colors, and gold on paper; leather and gold binding

Culture

Persian

Period

Qajar period

Century

20th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

22 x 14 cm (8 11/16 x 5 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), loan; to Harvard Art Museums, 2015. Note: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market.