ManuscriptsPersian16th century

Gold-speckled pinkish paper of flyleaf (almost blank recto; scribbled lines verso of folio 1), from a manuscript of Layla and Majnun by Jami

c. 1550-60

Description

The manuscript opens with an illuminated sarlawh and gilded text panel. The text is copied in 13 lines in two columns and the text panels are remounted onto new margins. According to its colophon the manuscript was copied by Muhammad al-Qivam al-Shirazi (1537-1585) who was a famous scribe in Shiraz. Another manuscript in the hand of the same scribe in the Harvard Art Museums is the Shahnama of Firdawsi, with his signature in the colophon page (2002.50.138). The leather binding is gilded and stamped. The inside cover is decorated with animals in a landscape in relief. The interior of the front cover is mistakenly placed upside down during a repair.

Classification

Manuscripts

Medium

Ink, colors, and gold on paper

Culture

Persian

Period

Safavid period

Century

16th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

21 x 13 cm (8 1/4 x 5 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.