Folio from a Rawzat al-safa (Garden of purity) by Mirkhwand (died 1498); recto: illuminated titlepiece, border and text; verso: text

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of a Rawzat al-safa fi sirat al-anbiya’ wa’l-muluk wa’l-khulafa (Garden of purity on the lives of the prophets, kings, and caliphs) by Muhammad b. Khwandshah (known as Mirkhwand); Persian in black nasta’liq script with a few lines in Arabic; recto: left-hand half of a double-page frontispiece now separate from facing folio (S1986.88.1); verso: text, one column, twenty-five lines; one of a group of twenty-one folios.
Border: The recto is set in an illuminated border, the verso is set in gold, red, and black rulings on cream-colored paper.

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Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Inayatullah al-katib al-Shirazi
Author: Khwandshah (Mirkhwand)
Historical period(s)
Safavid period, 1571-1572 (979 A.H.)
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 41 x 26.5 cm (16 1/8 x 10 7/16 in)
Geography
Iran, Shiraz
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1986.88.2
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, history, illumination, Iran, Islam, nasta'liq script, prophet, Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of a Rawzat al-safa fi sirat al-anbiya' wa'l-muluk wa'l-khulafa (Garden of purity on the lives of the prophets, kings, and caliphs) by Muhammad b. Khwandshah (known as Mirkhwand); Persian in black nasta'liq script with a few lines in Arabic; recto: left-hand half of a double-page frontispiece now separate from facing folio (S1986.88.1); verso: text, one column, twenty-five lines; one of a group of twenty-one folios.
Border: The recto is set in an illuminated border, the verso is set in gold, red, and black rulings on cream-colored paper.

Published References
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Milo Cleveland Beach, Elisabeth West FitzHugh, Susan Nemanzee, Janet Snyder. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 229, p. 194.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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