The illuminated sarlawh; notes and seals (notes and seals recto; sarlawh verso of folio 1), from a manuscript of the Muntakhab-i Bustan by Sa`di
c. 1550-1600
Description
The manuscript opens with an exquisitely illuminated sarlawh above the text which is copied in two columns and 14 lines to a page in nasta`liq. According to the colophon the manuscript was copied by Mir Sayyid Ahmad al-Husayni who, based on a note on the first folio, was a pupil of Mir ‘Ali (Haravi). The text area is finely gold speckled. The binding is decorated with large plate stamped and gilt leather covers, and the doublures are decorated with filigrees over various colored paper ground; however, most filigrees have been damaged over time.
Dimensions
22.5 × 15 cm (8 7/8 × 5 7/8 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.
Related Artworks
View MoreInk, colors, and gold on paper; stamped and gilded leather binding
16th centuryInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
16th centuryOttomanInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
16th centuryPersianInk, colors, and gold on paper
16th centuryInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
16th-17th centuryPersianInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
16th-17th centuryPersianInk, colors, and gold on paper
16th centuryPersianOpaque watercolor on paper
16th centuryPersianInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
16th centuryPersianThe first of a series of 54 backing sheets mounted in an album; ink and color on paper
16th centuryJapaneseInk and gold on paper
16th and 19th centuryPersianThe fifty-third of a series of 54 backing sheets mounted in an album; ink and color on paper
16th centuryJapanese