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Walters Ms. W.604, Five poems (quintet)

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Shelf mark

W.604


Manuscript

Five poems (quintet)


Text title
Khamsah-i Niẓāmī

Vernacular: خمسه نظامى


Author

Authority name: Niẓāmī Ganjavī, 1140 or 41-1202 or 3

Supplied name: Ilyās ibn Yūsuf Niẓāmī Ganjavī

Name, in vernacular: الياس بن يوسف نظامى گنجوى

Note: Author dates preferred by cataloger: d. 605 AH / 1209 CE


Abstract

This is an illuminated and illustrated Timurid copy of the Khamsah of Niẓāmī Ganjavī (d. 605 AH / 1209 CE), completed in 886 AH / 1481 CE. The text is written in black nastaʿlīq script with chapter/section headings in red. Illuminated headings written in a foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style in white ink on a blue background with polychrome decoration introduce the poems of the Khamsah (fols. 26b, 97a, 146b, and 202b). (The beginning of Makhzan al-asrār is now missing). There are sixty illustrations. The reddish brown leather binding dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.


Date

Ramaḍān 885-Rabīʿ I 886 / 1481


Origin

Iran


Form

Book


Genre

Literary -- Poetry


Language:

The primary language in this manuscript is Persian. The secondary language of this manuscript is Arabic.


Colophon
fol. 25b:
  1. Transliteration: (fol. 25b): tammat al-kitāb bi-ʿawn al-Malik al-Wahhāb /1/ taḥrīran fī shahr Ramaḍān al-mubārak /2/ sanat khams wa-thamānīn /3/ wa-thamānimi<ʾ>ah /4/ m (= tamma) /5/ (fol. 96a): tammat al-kitāb Khusraw va Shīrīn bi-ʿawn Malik [sic] /1/ al-Wahhāb bi-tārīkh ghurrah-ʾi Safar sanat-i /2/ 885 /3/ m (= tamma) /4/ (fol. 145b): tammat al-kitāb Laylá va Majnūn /1/ bi-ʿawn Malik-i /2/ bīchūn-i bi-tārīkh-i /3/ khāmis-i /4/ shahr-i /5/ Rabīʿ-i /6/ avval /7/ sanat-i /8/ 886 /9/ (fol. 201a): tammat al-kitāb Haft paykar /1/ bi-tawfīq Allāh taʿālá /2/ bi-tārīkh 22 Ramaḍān /3/ sanat 885 /4/
  2. Comment: Four short colophons (25b, 96a, 145b, 201a) in Arabic at the end of Makhzan al-asrār (dated Ramaḍān 885), Khusraw va Shīrīn (dated 1st Safar 885), Laylá va Majnūn (dated 5 Rabīʿ I 886), and Haft paykar (dated 22 Ramaḍān 885); name of scribe not recorded

Support material

Paper

Laid paper


Extent

Foliation: i+323+i


Collation

Catchwords: Written obliquely on versos


Dimensions

16.0 cm wide by 23.5 cm high


Written surface

12.0 cm wide by 17.5 cm high


Layout
  1. Columns: 4
  2. Ruled lines: 21
  3. Framing lines in gold, blue, and black

Contents:
fols. 1b - 323b:
  1. Title: Khamsah-i Niẓāmī
  2. Author: Niẓāmī Ganjavī, 1140 or 41-1202 or 3
  3. Incipit: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم هست كليد در كنج حكيم...
  4. Text note: Contains the following poems: Makhzan al-asrār (fols. 1b-25b), Khusraw va Shīrīn (fols. 26b-96a), Laylá va Majnūn (fols. 97a-145b), Haft paykar (fols. 146b-201a), and Iskandarnāmah (fols. 202b-323b), with Iqbālnāmah (second part of the Iskandarnāmah) beginning on fol. 281b
  5. Hand note: Written in black nastaʿlīq script with chapter/section headings in red; illuminated headings written in a foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style in white ink
  6. Decoration note: Sixty illustrations; illuminated headings for each book (fols. 26b, 97a, 146b, and 202b [beginning of Makhzan al-asrār now missing]); framing lines in gold, blue, and black

Decoration:

fol. 26b:

  1. W.604, fol. 26b
  2. Title: Illuminated incipit with headpiece
  3. Form: Incipit; headpiece
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn
  5. Label: This illuminated incipit page introduces the second poem of the Khamsah, Khusraw va Shīrīn, and has a headpiece in foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style inscribed: dhikr al-qadīm awlá bi-al-taqdīm.

fol. 32b:

  1. W.604, fol. 32b
  2. Title: Khusraw prostrates before his father, Hurmuz, and begs for pardon
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 35a:

  1. W.604, fol. 35a
  2. Title: Shāpūr shows Shīrīn Khusraw's portrait
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 39a:

  1. W.604, fol. 39a
  2. Title: Khusraw watching Shīrīn bathing
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 40b:

  1. W.604, fol. 40b
  2. Title: Khusraw and Shīrīn with Mahīn Bānū
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 43a:

  1. W.604, fol. 43a
  2. Title: Shāpūr asks Shīrīn to marry Khusraw
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 44a:

  1. W.604, fol. 44a
  2. Title: Khusraw enthroned
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 45a:

  1. W.604, fol. 45a
  2. Title: Khusraw and Shīrīn at rest from the hunt
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 46a:

  1. W.604, fol. 46a
  2. Title: Khusraw and Shīrīn play polo
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 47a:

  1. W.604, fol. 47a
  2. Title: Khusraw’s men skin the lion
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 50b:

  1. W.604, fol. 50b
  2. Title: Khusraw and the Roman Emperor
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 51b:

  1. W.604, fol. 51b
  2. Title: Khusraw fighting Bahrām Chūbīnah
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 52b:

  1. W.604, fol. 52b
  2. Title: Shīrīn weeps over Khusraw’s absence
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 54b:

  1. W.604, fol. 54b
  2. Title: Khusraw’s courtiers announce the death of Bahrām Chūbīnah
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 59a:

  1. W.604, fol. 59a
  2. Title: Farhād faints at the sight of Shīrīn
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 59b:

  1. W.604, fol. 59b
  2. Title: Shīrīn visits Farhād and the pool of milk
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 62a:

  1. W.604, fol. 62a
  2. Title: Farhād is brought before Khusraw
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 63a:

  1. W.604, fol. 63a
  2. Title: Farhād cuts through the rocky mountain
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 65a:

  1. W.604, fol. 65a
  2. Title: Farhād carries Shīrīn on her horse
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 70a:

  1. W.604, fol. 70a
  2. Title: A woman offers wine to Khusraw
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 74a:

  1. W.604, fol. 74a
  2. Title: Khusraw asks Shīrīn for forgiveness after being unfaithful
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 78b:

  1. W.604, fol. 78b
  2. Title: Shāpūr and Shīrīn in conversation
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 79b:

  1. W.604, fol. 79b
  2. Title: Khusraw and Shīrīn entertained by Bārbad and Nakīsā
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 90b:

  1. W.604, fol. 90b
  2. Title: Khusraw declines the Prophet Muhammad’s attempt to covert him to Islam in a dream
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 94b:

  1. W.604, fol. 94b
  2. Title: King Qizil Arslān welcomes the poet Niẓāmī
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Khusraw va Shīrīn

fol. 97a:

  1. W.604, fol. 97a
  2. Title: Illuminated incipit with headpiece
  3. Form: Incipit; headpiece
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn
  5. Label: This illuminated incipit page introduces the third poem of the Khamsah, Laylá va Majnūn, and has a headpiece in foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style inscribed: al-ḥamd li-Llāh ʿalá niʿmātih.

fol. 109b:

  1. W.604, fol. 109b
  2. Title: Majnūn and his father visit the mosque in Mecca
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 114b:

  1. W.604, fol. 114b
  2. Title: Nawfal and his men attack Laylá’s tribe
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 117a:

  1. W.604, fol. 117a
  2. Title: A widow leads Majnūn in chains before Laylá’s pavilion
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 118a:

  1. W.604, fol. 118a
  2. Title: Laylá’s husband, Ibn Salām, falls to the ground in the bridal chamber
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 123a:

  1. W.604, fol. 123a
  2. Title: Majūn weeps at his father’s tomb
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 129b:

  1. W.604, fol. 129b
  2. Title: Majnūn’s mother combs his untidy hair
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 132a:

  1. W.604, fol. 132a
  2. Title: An old man sent by Laylá sees Majnūn on the rocks
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 138b:

  1. W.604, fol. 138b
  2. Title: Laylá and Majūn faint at the sight of each other
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 141b:

  1. W.604, fol. 141b
  2. Title: Majnūn lies prostrate at Laylá’s tomb
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 143b:

  1. W.604, fol. 143b
  2. Title: Majnūn lies dead on Laylá’s tomb
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Laylá va Majnūn

fol. 146b:

  1. W.604, fol. 146b
  2. Title: Illuminated incipit with headpiece
  3. Form: Incipit; headpiece
  4. Text: Haft paykar
  5. Label: This illuminated incipit page introduces the fourth poem of the Khamsah, Haft paykar, and has a headpiece inscribed with the doxological formula (basmalah) in a foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style.

fol. 154b:

  1. W.604, fol. 154b
  2. Title: Bahrām Gūr kills a lion and a wild ass
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Haft paykar

fol. 159b:

  1. W.604, fol. 159b
  2. Title: Bahrām Gūr kills two lions and puts a crown on his head
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Haft paykar

fol. 163a:

  1. W.604, fol. 163a
  2. Title: Fitnah carries a bull on her shoulders before Bahrām Gūr
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Haft paykar

fol. 173a:

  1. W.604, fol. 173a
  2. Title: Bahrām Gūr in the yellow pavilion
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Haft paykar

fol. 176a:

  1. W.604, fol. 176a
  2. Title: Bahrām Gūr in the green pavilion
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Haft paykar

fol. 179a:

  1. W.604, fol. 179a
  2. Title: Bahrām Gūr in the red pavilion
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Haft paykar

fol. 182b:

  1. W.604, fol. 182b
  2. Title: Bahrām Gūr in the blue pavilion
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Haft paykar

fol. 202b:

  1. W.604, fol. 202b
  2. Title: Illuminated incipit with headpiece
  3. Form: Incipit; headpiece
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah
  5. Label: This illuminated incipit page introduces the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Iskandarnāmah, and has a headpiece with an unidentified inscription in foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style.

fol. 212b:

  1. W.604, fol. 212b
  2. Title: The birth of Alexander the Great
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 215a:

  1. W.604, fol. 215a
  2. Title: The Ethiopians attack the castle of the Egyptians
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 218b:

  1. W.604, fol. 218b
  2. Title: Alexander the Great fights the Ethiopians
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 229b:

  1. W.604, fol. 229b
  2. Title: Alexander the Great fights the Persian King Darius
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 232a:

  1. W.604, fol. 232a
  2. Title: The tomb of Darius
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 237b:

  1. W.604, fol. 237b
  2. Title: Rawshanak, the daughter of Darius, and Alexander the Great sleep in their bridal chamber
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 244a:

  1. W.604, fol. 244a
  2. Title: Alexander the Great is entertained by the ruler of Bardaʿ
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 245b:

  1. W.604, fol. 245b
  2. Title: Alexander the Great enthroned during the New Year celebrations
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 248a:

  1. W.604, fol. 248a
  2. Title: Alexander the Great and his army attack a fortress
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 255a:

  1. W.604, fol. 255a
  2. Title: Alexander the Great in bed with an Indian girl given to him by the Indian King Kaydī
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 261a:

  1. W.604, fol. 261a
  2. Title: Separated by a green curtain, a Chinese and Roman artist compete with each other
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 267b:

  1. W.604, fol. 267b
  2. Title: A Russian warrior pursues the Persian warrior Zarīrvand
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 271a:

  1. W.604, fol. 271a
  2. Title: Alexander the Great captures a Russian warrior with his lasso
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 272a:

  1. W.604, fol. 272a
  2. Title: Alexander the Great drinks in the company of a Russian girl playing the harp
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 276a:

  1. W.604, fol. 276a
  2. Title: Alexander the Great with a Chinese girl given to him by the King of China (erased)
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iskandarnāmah

fol. 281b:

  1. W.604, fol. 281b
  2. Title: Illuminated incipit with headpiece
  3. Form: Incipit; headpiece
  4. Text: Iqbālnāmah
  5. Label: This illuminated incipit page introduces the Iqbālnāmah, the second part of the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Iskandarnāmah, and has a headpiece with an inscription in foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style reading: wa-adhkuru Allāh aʿlá wa-akbar.

fol. 296b:

  1. W.604, fol. 296b
  2. Title: Alexander the Great visits Socrates
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iqbālnāmah

fol. 310b:

  1. W.604, fol. 310b
  2. Title: Alexander the Great is entertained by a beautiful girl in Qandhār
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iqbālnāmah

fol. 315a:

  1. W.604, fol. 315a
  2. Title: Alexander the Great builds a great wall at Gog
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iqbālnāmah

fol. 320a:

  1. W.604, fol. 320a
  2. Title: The coffin of Alexander the Great carried in procession
  3. Form: Illustration
  4. Text: Iqbālnāmah

Binding

The binding is not original.

Dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE; blind-tooled reddish brown leather (no flap)


Acquisition

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest


Bibliography

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


Contributors

Principal cataloger: Gacek, Adam

Catalogers: Landau, Amy; Smith, Sita

Editor: Bockrath, Diane

Conservators: Jewell, Stephanie; Quandt, Abigail

Contributors: Barrera, Christina; Emery, Doug; Herbert, Lynley; Noel, William; Simpson, Shreve; Tabritha, Ariel; Toth, Michael B.; Valle, Chiara


Publisher

The Walters Art Museum


License

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.