Text folio with an illuminated heading (illuminated heading recto; text verso of folio 122), from a manuscript of Prayers
ManuscriptsPersian19th century

Text folio with an illuminated heading (illuminated heading recto; text verso of folio 122), 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.

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Text folio with an illuminated heading (illuminated heading recto; text verso of folio 122), from a manuscript of Prayers | Harvard Art Museums | KenAI