Walters Ms. W.627, Mihr and Mushtari

W.627

Mihr and Mushtari

Vernacular: مهر ومشترى

Authority name: ʻAṣṣār Tabrīzī, Muḥammad, d. 1382 or 3

As-written name: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ʿAṣṣār Tabrīzī

Name, in vernacular: محمد بن احمد عصار تبريزى

Note: Author name and dates preferred by cataloger: ʿAṣṣār Tabrīzī, d. 784 AH / 1382 CE

This manuscript is an illustrated copy of the well-known poem recounting the platonic love story between Mihr (the Sun), the son of Shāhpūr, and his vizier's son Mushtarī (Jupiter). The story of 90 chapters was composed by Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ‘Aṣṣār Tabrīzī (d. 784 AH / 1382 CE). The present copy was written in nasta‘līq script by Murshid al-Kātib in 881 AH / 1476 CE. Considering the number of surviving manuscripts in which this calligrapher’s name is found, it seems he was particularly prolific. The present codex is illustrated with nine paintings. The gold-brushed leather binding with doublures of red leather decorated with filigree work is original to the manuscript.

Ramaḍān 881 AH / 1476 CE

Iran

As-written name: Murshid al-Kātib

Name, in vernacular: مرشد الكاتب

Note: The calligrapher Murshid al-Kātib came from Shiraz (Iran), and his name appears on a number of extant manuscripts (see bibliogrpahy, Richard, Splendeurs, p. 133).

Book

Literary -- Poetry

The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.

1. Transliteration: qad tamma ʿalá yad al-ʿabd al-ḍaʿīf Murshid al-Kātib fī shahr Ramaḍān li-sanat 881 /1/
2. Comment: Short (one line), in Arabic, giving the name of the scribe and the date of copying

Paper

Persian laid paper

Foliation: 243+ii

Catchwords: Written on versos

12.0 cm wide by 20.5 cm high

6.5 cm wide by 13.0 cm high

1. Columns: 2
2. Ruled lines: 11
3. Framing lines in gold and black

1. Title: Mihr va Mushtarī
2. Author: ʻAṣṣār Tabrīzī, Muḥammad, d. 1382 or 3
3. Scribe: Murshid al-Kātib
4. Incipit: بنام ڀادشاه عالم عشق * ...
5. Hand note: Written in nastaʿlīq script in black with chapter headings in gold on an illuminated ground
6. Decoration note: Nine illustrations (fols. 17b, 79b, 110a, 121a, 151b, 166b, 184a, 190a, and 214a); double-page illuminated incipit (fols. 2b-3a); chapter headings in gold on an illuminated ground; framing lines in gold and black

fol. 2b:

1. 
2. Title: Double-page illuminated incipit
3. Form: Incipit
4. Label: This is the right side of a double-page illuminated incipit with inscriptions in the upper and lower panels in New Abbasid (broken cursive) style, reading al-ʿuẓmah li-LLāh and al-qudrah li-Llāh, respectively.

fol. 3a:

1. 
2. Title: Double-page illuminated incipit
3. Form: Incipit
4. Label: This is the left side of a double-page illuminated incipit with inscriptions in the upper and lower panels in New Abbasid (broken cursive) style, reading al-ʿuẓmah li-LLāh and al-qudrah li-Llāh, respectively.

fol. 17b:

1. 
2. Title: King Shāhpūr and his vizier, Dastūr, visit a hermit
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: King Shāhpūr and his vizier, Dastūr, are depicted kissing the hand and foot of a hermit. Such gestures show deep respect for the wise man who has renounced the material world.

fol. 79b:

1. 
2. Title: Mushtarī kneels at the feet of Mihr in the presence of courtiers
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: Mushtarī (Jupiter), who is the son of the vizier, kneels at the feet of Mihr (the Sun), the son of King Shāhpūr.

fol. 110a:

1. 
2. Title: Mihr sailing to India in search of Mushtarī
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: Driven by deep affection, Mihr sails to India in search of Mushtarī.

fol. 121a:

1. 
2. Title: Mihr killing a lion
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 151b:

1. 
2. Title: Mihr and King Kayvān playing polo
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 166b:

1. 
2. Title: Mihr hunting in the presence of King Kayvān and his entourage
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 184a:

1. 
2. Title: Mihr killing Yaldūz, the warrior of Qarā Khān, the king of Samarqand
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 190a:

1. 
2. Title: Mihr being received by King Kayvān
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 214b:

1. 
2. Title: Mihr and Nāhīd, King Kayvān's daughter, on their wedding night
3. Form: Illustration

The binding is original.

Black leather (with flap); gold-brushed central panel; doublures of red leather with filigree work

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest; book plate: Ex libris Henry Walters

Richard, Francis. Splendeurs persanes: manuscrits du XIIe au XVIIe siècle. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1997), 84, 104, 112, 133, 139.

Richard, Francis. Catalogue des manuscrits persans. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1989), nos. 367, 374.

Grube, Ernst J., and Maria Alberta Fabris. Muslim Miniature Paintings from the XIII to XIX Century from Collections in the United States and Canada: Catalogue of the Exhibition. (Venezia: N. Pozza, 1962), 69-70.

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

The Walters Art Museum

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.