Five poems (quintet), Walters Art Museum MS. W.663

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.

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

Text: Heşt bihişt Label: This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the fourth poem of the Ḫamse, inscribed Kitāb-i Heşt bihişt. fol. 199b: Title: Alexander the Great at the side of Darius, the killed Persian king Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Iskendernāme Label: This is the right side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting Alexander the Great (Iskender) at the side of Darius (Dārā), the killed Persian king. fol. 200a: Title: Alexander the Great in search of the fountain of life Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Iskendernāme Label: This is the left side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting Alexander the Great (Iskender) in search of the fountain of life. fol. 200b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated titlepiece Form: Incipit; titlepiece Text: Iskendernāme Label: This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the fifth poem of the Ḫamse, inscribed Kitāb-i Iskendernāme.

Acquisition

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Binding

The binding date is undetermined.

Possibly dates to the tenth century AH / sixteenth CE; brown goatskin (no flap); dentelle style with central lobed oval, pendants, and cornerpieces brushed with gold; doublures of a similar pattern decorated in gold and blue

Bibliography

Rieu, Charles. Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the British Museum. (London: British Museum, 1888), 292.

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Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Mecnūn va Leylā Label: This is the right side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting Leylā in her pavilion with her attendants. fol. 109a: Title: Mecnūn in the company of wild animals Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Mecnūn va Leylā Label: This is the left side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece, depicting Mecnūn in the company of wild animals. fol. 109b: Title: Inicpit page with illuminated titlepiece Form: Incipit; titlepiece Text: Mecnūn va Leylā Label: This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece, introducing the third poem of the Ḫamse, inscribed Kitāb-i Mecnūn va Leylā. fol. 147b: Title: Bahrām Gūr hunting deer while Fitnah plays the harp Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Heşt bihişt Label: This is the right side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting Bahrām Gūr hunting deer while Fitnah plays the harp. fol. 148a: Title: Bahrām Gūr being entertained by his maid Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Heşt bihişt Label: This is the left side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting Bahrām Gūr being entertained by his maid. fol. 148b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated titlepiece Form: Incipit; titlepiece

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Text: Ḫeyrāt ül-ebrār Label: This is the left side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting a courtyard scene with a prince receiving gifts. The inscription over the door on the left reads yā Mufattiḥ al-abwāb. fol. 2b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated titlepiece Form: Incipit; titlepiece Text: Ḫeyrāt ül-ebrār Label: This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the first poem of the Ḫamse, inscribed Kitāb-i ḫeyrāt ül-ebrār. fol. 45b: Title: Khusraw being entertained in his court with wine and music Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Ferhād va Şīrīn Label: This is the right side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting Khusraw being entertained in his court with wine and music. fol. 46a: Title: Ferhād carrying Şīrīn and her dead horse on his shoulders Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Ferhād va Şīrīn Label: This is the left side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting Ferhād carrying Şīrīn and her dead horse on his shoulders. fol. 46b: Title: Incipit page with illuminated titlepiece Form: Incipit; titlepiece Text: Ferhād va Şīrīn Label: This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the second poem of the Ḫamse, inscribed Kitāb-i Ferhād va Şīrīn. fol. 108b: Title: Leylā in her pavilion with her attendants

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Laid paper Extent

Foliation: 276

Collation

Catchwords: Written on versos

Dimensions

16.5 cm wide by 23.5 cm high

Written surface

11.0 cm wide by 17.5 cm high

Layout

Columns: 4 Ruled lines: 25 Framing lines in blue, black, and gold

Contents

fols. 1b - 276a: Title: Ḫamse-yi Nevāʾī Incipit: Text note: Contains Kitāb-i ḫeyrāt ül-ebrār (fols.

1b-2a), Kitāb-i Ferhād va Şīrīn (fols. 45b-46a), Kitābi Mecnūn va Leylā (fols. 108b-109a), Kitāb-i Heşt bihişt (fols. 147b-148a), and Kitāb-i Iskendernāme (fols. 199b-200a) Hand note: Written in black nastaʿlīq script with red section headings Decoration note: Five double-page illustrations (fols. 1b-2a, 45b-46a, 108b-109a, 147b-148a, and 199b-200a); incipit pages with illuminated titlepieces (fols. 2b, 46b, 109b, 148b, and 200b); framing lines in blue, black, and gold

Decoration

fol. 1b: Title: A courtyard scene Form: Illustration; frontispiece Text: Ḫeyrāt ül-ebrār Label: This is the right side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece depicting a courtyard scene with courtiers carrying gifts. fol. 2a: Title: A courtyard scene Form: Illustration; frontispiece

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Shelf mark

Walters Art Museum Ms. W.663

Descriptive Title

Five poems (quintet)

Text title

Ḫamse-yi Nevāʾī Vernacular:

Author

Authority name: Alisher Navoiĭ, 1441-1501 As-written name: ʿAlī Šīr Nevāʾī Name, in vernacular: Known as: Mir Ali Šir Note: Author dates preferred by cataloger: d. 906 AH / 1501 CE

Abstract

This is a Safavid illuminated and illustrated collection of the Ḫamse (quintet), written in Çaġatāy (eastern Turkic), composed by the celebrated ʿAlī Šīr Nevāʾī (d. 906 AH / 1501 CE), and inspired by the Persian Khamse of Niẓāmī and Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī. This copy dates to the tenth century AH / sixteenth CE and has five double-page illustrations in the early Safavid court style. Each double-page illustration introduces the following individual poems: Kitāb-i ḫeyrāt ülebrār (fols. 1b-2a), Kitāb-i Ferhād va Şīrīn (fols. 45b-46a), Kitāb-i Mecnūn va Leylā (fols. 108b-109a), Kitāb-i Heşt bihişt (fols. 147b-148a), and Kitāb-i Iskendernāme (fols.

199b-200a). Each poem is also introduced by an illuminated incipit (fols. 2b, 46b, 109b, 148b, and 200b). The brown goatskin binding has a central lobed oval with pendants and cornerpieces brushed with gold. It is possibly attributable to the tenth century AH / sixteenth CE.

Date

10th century AH / 16th CE

Origin

Turkey

Form

Book

Genre

Literary -- Poetry

Language

The primary language in this manuscript is Turkish.

Support material

Paper

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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.663, Five poems (quintet) Title: Ḫamse-yi Nevāʾī

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