ManuscriptsPersian19th century

The left half of the illuminated frontispiece (text with illuminated margin recto, text verso of folio 4), from a manuscript of Prayers

dated 1837

Description

The small manuscript opens with a minutely illuminated double-page frontispiece. The text is copied 15 lines to a page in naskh by ‘Alī Aṣghar b. Muḥammad Shafī‘ al-Arsanjānī in H. 1253 (1837). The manuscript comprises 127 folios, including 4 flyleaves. It contains 80 illuminated headings, one at the beginning of each prayer. All text folios are embellished with interlinear gilding. The manuscript is made for the servant, the humble Aqā Mullā Aḥmad son of the late Karbalā’i Muḥammad ‘Alī Shīrāzī. The leather binding is decorated with gold painted borders and stamped, painted and inlaid central and corner pieces, bearing flower paintings in green and purple/crimson. Inside covers are light brown plain leather with gold borders.

Classification

Manuscripts

Medium

Ink, colors, and gold on paper

Culture

Persian

Period

Qajar period

Century

19th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

17 x 10.5 cm (6 11/16 x 4 1/8 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.