Folio from a volume of poetry by Jami (d. 1492)

Folio from volume of poetry by Jami; Persian in gold, white, and blue nasta’liq script; recto/verso: sorrow and yearning for the beloved; three columns; 10 lines.
Border: The text is set in gold, black, and blue rulings on a gold-sprinkled margin.

Maker(s)
Author: Jami (died 1492)
Historical period(s)
Safavid period, 16th century
Medium
Ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 24 x 16.5 cm (9 7/16 x 6 1/2 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Gift of Hamid Atighetchi
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S2002.5
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
Iran, nasta'liq script, Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
Provenance

To 2002
Hamid Atighetchi, London, England. [1]

From 2002
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Hamid Atighetchi, London, England. [2]

Notes:

[1] See Deed of Gift, object file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Mr. Hamid Atighetchi

Description

Folio from volume of poetry by Jami; Persian in gold, white, and blue nasta'liq script; recto/verso: sorrow and yearning for the beloved; three columns; 10 lines.
Border: The text is set in gold, black, and blue rulings on a gold-sprinkled margin.

Label

Written on cream-colored paper and set within gold sprinkled margins, the verses on this folio are by the poet Jami (d. 1492), the leading literary figure at the court of the Timurid ruler, Sultan Husayn Bayqara, in Herat. Jami's mystically inspired poetry enjoyed tremendous popularity during the sixteenth century, and his Haft awrang (Seven Thrones) became one of the most frequently illustrated texts. While Jami's select poems, written in the elegant nasta'liq script, were frequently included in albums (muraqqa'), the present folio probably belonged to an entire volume devoted to his poetry.


The verses are copied in different colored inks -- white, gold, and blue -- a practice that can also be seen in the work of renowned sixteenth-century calligraphers, such as Ayshi, Rustam Ali, Shah Mahmud Nishapuri, who contributed to the most celebrated copy of Jami's Haft awrang, completed between 1556-65 for Sultan Ibrahim Mirza and now in the Freer Gallery of Art. Another notable feature of the present folio is the shifting directionality of the script. Favored by many Safavid scribes, this device helped to enhance the visual appeal of their work and served as a distinctive characteristic of sixteenth-century Persian calligraphy.

Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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