Five poems (Quintet), Walters Art Museum Ms. W.612

The Walters Art Museum 600 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 http://www.thewalters.org/

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode Published 2009

NOTE: The pages in this book are ordered from right to left. This means that to view the pages in order, you should go the last page of the document and read what would be from “back-to-front� for a Western manuscript.

This document is a digital facsimile of selections from a manuscript belonging to the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. It is one of a number of manuscripts that have been digitized as part of a project generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and by an anonymous donor to the Walters Art Museum. More details about the manuscripts at the Walters can be found by visiting The Walters Art Museum's website www.thewalters.org. For further information about this book, and online resources for Walters manuscripts, please contact us through the Walters Website by email, and ask for your message to be directed to the Department of Manuscripts.

Acquisition

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Binding

The binding is not original.

Lacquer boards with floral design (no flap)

Bibliography

Storey, C. A. Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey, Vol. 2. (London: Luzac, 1927- ), 438-495.

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Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 328a: Title: An official weighs the precious stone Alexander the Great found in the darkness Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 329a: Title: A man tells Alexander the Great a story of a country in which there is no death Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 331b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated headpiece Form: Incipit; headpiece Text: Iqbālnāmah Label: This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece beginning Iqbālnāmah, the second half of the fifth poem of the Khamsah: Iskandarnāmah. fol. 339a: Title: Alexander the Great listens to a story about a prince whose wife was sick Form: Illustration Text: Iqbālnāmah fol. 343b: Title: A rich merchant is summoned before a Greek king and his prime minister Form: Illustration Text: Iqbālnāmah fol. 345b: Title: Hermes, in front of Alexander the Great, and the Greek scholars who disagreed with him Form: Illustration Text: Iqbālnāmah fol. 374b: Title: The funeral procession of Alexander the Great Form: Illustration Text: Iqbālnāmah

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Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 259a: Title: Alexander the Great fights the Ethiopians Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 268a: Title: An official reads a letter to Alexander the Great, sent to him by Darius Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 288b: Title: Nushābah entertained by Alexander the Great Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 292a: Title: Alexander the Great, unable to destroy a fortress, consults a hermit Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 296a: Title: Alexander the Great at a cave where Kay Khusraw is buried that emits flames Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 301b: Title: Alexander the Great hunts on his way to China Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 307b: Title: Alexander the Great meets the king of China Form: Illustration Text: Sharafnāmah fol. 320b: Title: Alexander the Great defeats the Russian army Form: Illustration

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Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 212b: Title: Bahrām Gūr in the green pavilion Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 215a: Title: Bahrām Gūr in the red pavilion Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 221a: Title: Bahrām Gūr in the sandalwood pavilion Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 226a: Title: Bahrām Gūr in the white pavilion Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 232a: Title: Bahrām Gūr meets a shepherd who hung his dog on a tree Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 236a: Title: The hanging of Bahrām Gūr’s unjust vizier Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 240b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated headpiece Form: Incipit; headpiece Text: Sharafnāmah Label: This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece beginning Sharafnāmah, the first half of the fifth poem of the Khamsah: Iskandarnāmah. fol. 253a: Title: Alexander the Great enthroned

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Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 117b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated headpiece Form: Incipit; headpiece Text: Laylá va Majnūn Label: This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece beginning the third poem of the Khamsah: Laylá va Majnūn. fol. 160b: Title: Laylá and Majnūn meet in the wilderness Form: Illustration Text: Laylá va Majnūn fol. 176b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated headpiece Form: Incipit; headpiece Text: Haft paykar Label: This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece beginning the fourth poem of the Khamsah: Haft paykar. fol. 186b: Title: Nuʿmān, father of Bahrām Gūr, throws a builder from the roof of the palace Khavarnaq Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 195b: Title: Bahrām Gūr kills a wild ass while Fitnah plays the harp Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 202a: Title: Bahrām Gūr entertains Shīdah, the builder of the seven pavilions Form: Illustration Text: Haft paykar fol. 209a: Title: Bahrām Gūr in the yellow pavilion

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Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 48a: Title: Khusraw watching Shīrīn bathing Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 57a: Title: Khusraw kills a lion in the presence of Shīrīn Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 72b: Title: Farhād is summoned to dig a channel through a rocky mountain Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 79b: Title: Farhād carries Shīrīn and her dead horse on his shoulders Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 89b: Title: Courtiers at Khusraw’s palace Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 98b: Title: A woman offers wine to Khusraw Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 109b: Title: Shīrūyah kills his father, Khusraw, because of his love for Shīrīn Form: Illustration Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn fol. 110b: Title: Shīrīn commits suicide after the murder of Khusraw

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Contents

fols. 1b - 380a: Title: Khamsah-i Niẓāmī Incipit: Text note: Contains: Makhzan al-asrār (fols. 1b-31b); Khusraw va Shīrīn (fols. 32b-117a); Laylá va Majnūn (fols. 117b-176a); Haft paykar (fols. 176b-240a); and Iskandarnāmah, divided into Sharafnāmah (fols.

240b-331a) and Iqbālnāmah (fols. 331b-380a); title of each poem not indicated; some folios supplied later Hand note: Written in black nastaʿlīq script with chapter headings in red Decoration note: Thirty-six illustrations; doublepage illuminated frontispiece (fols. 1b-2a); headpieces without inscriptions; framing lines in blue, red, gold, and black

Decoration

fol. 1b: Title: Double-page illuminated frontispiece Form: Frontispiece Text: Makhzan al-asrār Label: This is the right side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece that begins the first poem of the Khamsah, Makhzan al-asrār. fol. 23b: Title: Two quarreling scholars Form: Illustration Text: Makhzan al-asrār fol. 32b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated headpiece Form: Incipit; headpiece Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn Label: This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece beginning the second poem of the Khamsah: Khusraw va Shīrīn. fol. 40b: Title: Khusraw before his father, Hurmuz, asking for forgiveness

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Shelf mark

Walters Art Museum Ms. W.612

Descriptive Title

Five poems (quintet)

Text title

Khamsah-i Niẓāmī Vernacular:

Author

Authority name: Niẓāmī Ganjavī, 1140 or 41-1202 or 3 Supplied name: Ilyās ibn Yūsuf Niẓāmī Ganjavī Name, in vernacular: Note: Author dates preferred by cataloger: d. 605 AH / 1209 CE

Abstract

This illuminated and illustrated Safavid copy of the Khamsah (quintet) of Niẓāmī Ganjavī (d. 605 AH / 1209 CE) dates to the eleventh century AH / seventeenth CE. The codex opens with a double-page illuminated frontispiece (fols. 1b-2a).

Each of the five poems begins with an illuminated headpiece (fols. 32b, 117b, 176b, 240b, 331b), and there are thirtysix illustrations. The lacquer binding is not original to the manuscript.

Date

11th century AH / 17th CE

Origin

Iran

Form

Book

Genre

Literary -- Poetry

Language

The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.

Extent

Foliation: i+380

Collation

Catchwords: Written obliquely on versos

Dimensions

16.5 cm wide by 27.0 cm high

Written surface

10.5 cm wide by 19.5 cm high

Layout

Columns: 4 Ruled lines: 20 Framing lines in blue, red, gold, and black

Generated: 2011-06-06 12:57 -04:00

This document is a digital facsimile of selections from a manuscript belonging to the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. It is one of a number of manuscripts that have been digitized as part of a project generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and by an anonymous donor to the Walters Art Museum. More details about the manuscripts at the Walters can be found by visiting The Walters Art Museum's website www.thewalters.org. For further information about this book, and online resources for Walters manuscripts, please contact us through the Walters Website by email, and ask for your message to be directed to the Department of Manuscripts.

A digital facsimile of selections fromWalters Ms. W.612, Five poems (quintet) Title: Khamsah-i Ni蘯篤［ﾄｫ

Published by: The Walters Art Museum 600 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21201 http://www.thewalters.org/

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode Published 2011