Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
early 17th century, Opening page of an iluminated album in a longitudinal shape (safinah), by calligrapher 'Imad al-Hasani al-Katib from Safavid era Persia.
- Around the vertical border of the text panel, the calligrapher (Mir) 'Imad al-Hasani al-Katib ("the writer") has signed his work along with a request for God's forgiveness. Mir 'Imad (d. 1615) was born in 1552, spent time in Herat and Qazvin, and finally settled in Isfahan (then capital of Safavid Persia), where, as a result of his implication in court intrigues, he was murdered in 1615. He was a master of nasta'liq script, whose works were admired, copied, and collected (Welch et al 1987: 32-36).
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 5.5 (w) x 10.1 (h) cm
- Many works in international collections are signed by him (inter alia, Safwat 1996, cat. nos. 53 and 62; and Lowry and Beach 1988: no. 456), although whether all these pieces are by his hand remains uncertain. Other calligraphies bearing his name in the collections of the Library of Congress include: 1-84-154.3, 1-84-154.43, 1-85-154.72, 1-87-154.160, 1-90-154.162, and 1-99-106.13 R.
- Praise be to the Creator, whose description is of Greatness, / Who dropped on the dust of inability the wisdom of the Prophets. / If for one hundred thousand years, all created beings / Thought about the depiction of God's glory, / Finally they would admit (their) incapacity / To know God, as we (still) will never know.
- Subhan khaliqi ka sifatash za kabriya' / Bar khak-i 'ajz mifakanad 'aql-i anbiya' / Gar sad hazar sal hama khalq-i kaniyat / Fikrat kunand dar sifat-i 'izzat-i khuda / Akhir bi-'ajz mu'tarif ayand kay alah / Danasta shud ka hich nadanasta-im ma
- The text is written in black nasta'liq on beige paper. It includes three bayts (verses) praising God and describing humans' inability to comprehend His power:
- This calligraphic fragment forms the first page of an album in a longitudinal shape (safinah). At the top appear a fine illuminated panel and finial (sarloh) with gold and blue flower and vine motifs. In the upper and lower corners, two gold and blue illuminated triangles (or thumb pieces) fill in the remaining spaces between the rectangular frame and the diagonal lines of text.
- Script: nasta'liq
Painting of Khusraw in battle; Shirin looks for Khusraw
-
Painting of Khusraw in battle; Shirin looks for Khusraw
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
20th century, Painting of Khusraw in battle; drawn from Nizami's "Khamsah" (Quintet) entitled "Khusraw va Shirin", text written in Nasta'liq but the paining and work is from the 20th Cent.
- Dimensions of Painting: 13.8 (w) x 17 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: 13.9 (w) x 20.8 (h) cm
- The original text, executed in black nasta'liq script in four columns, may date as early as the 16th century, although it also may be a modern reproduction.
- The painting does not appear to match the text, which describes Shirin's search for Khusraw (1-87-154.124 V). Probably inserted during the 20th century, the composition depicts soldiers on horseback attacking their fleeing enemies with drawn swords. One soldier holds an orange war banner as well.
- The text on the verso describes Shirin's search for Khusraw, which is written in red ink (raftan Shirin bi-talab-i Khusraw) in the chapter heading on the right of the third line of text. The verses are written in black nasta'liq script in four columns, divided by three gutters marked off by gold painted vertical lines. The text panel is framed by lines of several colors.
- This painting depicts a battle scene between two armies inserted into the third book of Nizami's "Khamsah" (Quintet) entitled "Khusraw va Shirin". In this book, the adventures and battles of the Persian king Khusraw are described, as is his love for the Armenian princess Shirin.
- Script: nasta'liq
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
17th century, Standing woman and a ghazal of Hafiz, paintings produced in Safavid Isfahan, Iran, during the 17th century.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 12.2 (w) x 19.2 (h) cm
- For comparative paintings, see Sheila Canby, "The Life and Work of the Painter Riza" (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981).
- It appears that the poem is linked to the painting it contains, which depicts a beautiful young woman walking among plants and using her right index finger to point to her strikingly arched eyebrows. Between her two fingers she also holds a tuft of hair, either taken from her own head or perhaps given to her by her lover as a token of his affection. The motif of the large, arched eyebrow (abru) as a mark of feminine beauty is common in Persian art and literature.
- The composition's style is typical of single-sheet paintings produced in Safavid Isfahan, the capital of Persia (Iran), during the 17th century. At this time, painters such as Riza 'Abbasi (d. 1635) and Mu'in Musavvir (d. ca. 1707) frequently depicted single figures or lovers in embrace. Backgrounds tend toward single tones (such as grisaille) or include various motifs lightly painted in gold as used in this particular composition. This painting originally was signed, as a small black smudge is visible on the right of the woman's hip. The artist's signature has been erased and is now illegible.
- This painting includes an outer frame comprised of a lyric poem (ghazal) composed by the Persian poet Hafiz (d. 791/1388-9). The ghazal describes a lover's affection for his beloved until the day of his death. The lover compares the woman's eyebrows to a mihrab (the prayer niche in a mosque) and thus the direction of his own repeated desirous entreaties. He also states that he is willing to seek out magicians to find a love potion to spellbind her.
- Script: nasta'liq
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
Collection of poems by Ḥāfiẓ and poems based on lines of his poetry., [between 1800 and 1850], Manuscript.
- Persian.
- Title devised by cataloger.
- Name of scribe not indicated.
- Probably written in India.
- Label on container incorrectly identifies the work as "Gulistan Sa'adi".
- Manuscript is lacking pages at both beginning and end.
- Paper: thick, cream-color coarse laid paper with no visible chain-lines or watermarks; black ink with some marginal notes; catchwords on versos.
- Nastaʻliq; 13 lines in written area 16.5 x 7 cm.
- Fol. 1a-213b.
- Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M78.
- Contemporary red leather binding with square geometric pattern in center and a similar pattern used as a border on both covers.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
19th century, An unique example of Nasta'liq in khatt-i nakhuni, in which either a nail or a metal stylus is used to create topographical impressions on a monochromatic. 19th Cent. Iran.
- A friend has placed a rope around my neck, / He drags me anywhere he wants.
- Bayt (lines 2 and 4):
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 12 (w) x 19.5 (h) cm
- I had no choice in my travel: / Sometimes (He) builds my home as the Ka'ba, sometimes as a monastery.
- Ikhtiyari dar safar nabud mara / Manzalam gah Ka'ba sazad gah dayr
- Rashta'i dar gardanam afkanda dust / Mikashad har ja ka khatir khwahu-st
- Tak Bayts (lines 1 and 3):
- This calligraphic fragment is unique in the collections of the Library of Congress, as it uses no ink at all. Instead, the text is executed in a style known as "fingernail calligraphy" (khatt-i nakhani), in which either a nail or a metal stylus is used to create topographical impressions on a monochromatic (usually white) sheet of paper. Although not very much is known about this inkless calligraphic practice, a number of signed and dated specimens held in international collections (the New York Public Library, the Bern Historical Museum in Switzerland, the Gulistan Palace in Tehran) prove that khatt-i nakhani thrived during the 19th century in Persia (Iran). At least three albums (Gulistan mss. 1568-70) were made by the calligrapher 'Ali Akbar Darvish 1266-7/1849-51 for the Qajar ruler Nasir al-Din Shah (r. 1848-96), while even the daughter of the ruler Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1797-1834), Fakhr-i Jahan, was a master of the technique, herself having created an album of ten "fingernail" paintings and calligraphies (Gulistan ms. 1574). Possibly linked to the rise of lithography and the printing press, this Qajar practice discards the traditional tools of the reed pen and ink in favor of a more abstract and experimental approach towards calligraphy.
- This particular example of khatt-i nakhani in nasta'liq script includes one bayt (lines 2 and 4) of poetry unrelated to two single verses or tak bayts (lines 1 and 3). Although difficult to decipher, the verses describe human vagabondage:
- Script: nasta'liq in khatt-i nakhani
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
18th century (?), Persian Nowruz poem, or quatrain (ruba'i), writen in Nasta'liq script.
- Ay rukhat 'id u abruyat mah-i 'id / Mah u salat khujasta bad u sa'id / Dida rushan mabad bi-ruyat / Qibla-yi khalq taq-i abruyat
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 9.2 (w) x 16.9 (h) cm
- Judging from the fragment's theme (e.g. see 1-04-713.19.3, 1-04-713.19.49, 1-04-713.19.48, 1-84-154.51, and 1-85-154.99), it is possible to suggest that the piece was executed in India sometime during the 18th or 19th century as a New Year's gift to an eminent patron.
- Oh, your face is 'id and your eyebrow is the moon of 'id / May your month and year be auspicious and happy / May my eye not be bright without seeing you / The arch of your eyebrow is the prayer direction of (all) people
- The text is written in black nasta'liq script on a beige paper and is framed by cloud bands on a gold background. The text panel is provided with blue and green frames and is pasted to a larger sheet of pink paper backed by cardboard. It seems like a calligrapher's signature may have been placed in the lower right corner of the text panel. However, it now is illegible due to water damage.
- This calligraphic fragment includes a poetical prayer wishing its owner happiness and prosperity on the occasion of the festival ('id) of New Year (Noruz). Beginning with a (now barely legible) invocation to God as the Glorious (huwa al-'aziz), the verses then read:
- Script: nasta'liq
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
Gulshan-i rāz (The garden of mystery) is a 20th century text on the Nizari Ismaʻili belief system, written by Nadir Shah Kayani (circa 1897-circa 1971), a leader of the Ismaʻili community in Afghanistan. The title of this work deliberately echoes a celebrated Ismaʻili book of verse of the same name composed by Mahmud Shabistari in 1317. Nadir Shah's work is organized in 14 sections, each of which discusses a philosophical or religious topic such as nafs (the soul) or namaz (prayer). The first section, on tafakkur (the faculty of thought), is written as a commentary on a verse from the original Gulshan-i rāz. Kayani's leadership of the Ismaʻili community coincided with the reign of Muhammad Shah (Aga Khan III, 1877-1957). Much remains to be discovered about the Ismaʻili community of Afghanistan during this period. What is known is that Nadir Shah belonged to a family of Ismaʻili leaders based in the Kayan valley in northern Afghanistan. He was a prolific author who wrote both poetry and philosophical texts. The present work is a manuscript, most likely produced in Afghanistan. The script is nastaʻliq, written in black ink, 11 lines to the page, on a light-cream paper. The "third" in the title probably refers to Shabistari's original work as the first Gulshan-i rāz. The identity of the second Gulshan-i rāz is not clear; it could be a reference to the well-known commentary by Shams al-Din Lahiji, written in 1472-73. World Digital Library.
Islamic topics in question and answer form, probabally written during early 20th century.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
1243/1828-9, Verses praising the practice of calligraphy written by calligrapher Muhammad Riza al-Din from 19th cent. Qajar era Iran.
- Around the border of the text panel, the calligrapher Muhammad Riza al-Din specifies that he wrote (katabahu) the verses in 1243/1828-9. He also states that the piece is written for his glory ('izz) and dignity (sharaf), if it is accepted (gar qabul aftad). Although Muhammad Riza al-Din is not known, he appears to have been a calligrapher in the nasta'liq style active in 19th-century Iran.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.3 (w) x 19 (h) cm
- I have brought a small vow (for you to be like) Asaf of Jam / I have used garnet, ruby, and emerald / They have said that beautiful handwriting is better than garnet and gems / I have brought (you) a house-full of gems as an offering
- Qit'a nazr-i Asaf-i Jam iqtidar avarda-am / La'l u yaqut u zumurrud-ra bi-kar avarda-am / Khatt-i khush-ra bahtar az la'l u javahir gufta-and / Yak javahirkhana-ra bahr-i nisar avarda-am
- The poet describes a fragment of a vow to be similar to a fragment (qit'a) of calligraphy (khatt-i khush), and as a result this panel functions as an offering (nisar) as precious as all the gems in the world. The blue border decorated with flecks of gold serves as a visual echo to the poem's contents.
- This calligraphic fragment includes several verses praising the practice of calligraphy. Beginning with an invocation of "God, the Great" (Allahu Akbar), the verses then read:
- Script: nasta'liq
Kullīyāt-i ashʻār va ghazalīyāt-i Mīrzā Maḥmūd Khān Bālāʹḥiṣārī Kābulī al-mutakhalliṣ bih (Sālik)
کليات اشعار و غزليات ميرزا محمود خان بالاحصارى کابلى المتخلص به (سالک / Mirzā Maḥmūd Khān
Sālik, Mīrzā Maḥmūd Khān, author
Kullīyāt-i ashʻār va ghazalīyāt-i Mīrzā Maḥmūd Khān Bālāʹḥiṣārī Kābulī al-mutakhalliṣ bih (Sālik)
کليات اشعار و غزليات ميرزا محمود خان بالاحصارى کابلى المتخلص به (سالک / Mirzā Maḥmūd Khān
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
18th century, Letter exercise in nasta'liq script used among calligraphers active in 18th-century India.
- Although the calligraphic panel is not signed, a note appears on the fragment's verso. It reads: "by the hand of (bi-khatt-i) Muhammad Sa'd (or Sa'id) al-Din." This note may be a later attribution of the calligraphic panel to Muhammad Sa'd (or Sa'id) al-Din, about whom information is wanting.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 40.6 (w) x 19.7 (h) cm
- This calligraphic fragment includes an exercise in nasta'liq script that consists in combining letters (mufradat) in various formations. Albums of mufradat exercises include the single letters (al-huruf al-mufradah or, in the Ottoman tradition, huruf-i muqatta'a) of the Arabic alphabet in sequence, followed by letters in their composite form. Exercise books begin at least by the 16th century. They were used as books of exemplars of calligraphy to introduce students into the practice of handwriting and provide chains of transmission of calligraphic knowledge throughout the centuries (Safwat 1996:12-3).
- This particular fragment bears witness to the practice of mufradat exercises in nasta'liq script that seems to have existed among calligraphers active in 18th-century India. The script and decorative patterns -- most especially the marble (abri or ebru) papers used both for the text panel and the outside frame backed by cardboard -- support such a provenance.
- Script: nasta'liq
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
1252/1836-7, Persian verses on perceived value written by calligrapher Muhammad Mahdi Husayni in nasta'liq script, from 19th-century Iran or India.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 21.3 (w) x 13.2 (h) cm
- Giram ka sarirat az bulur u yashm ast / Sangi danad har an ka ura chasm ast / In masnad-i qafum u samur u sanjab / Dar dida-yi buriya nashinan pashm ast
- I suppose your throne is made of crystal and jasper / Everyone who has an eye knows that they are just stone / That seat made from weasel and ermine (and with) a banner / To those who sit in wicker is but skin
- The calligrapher Muhammad Mahdi Husayni states that he has written these lines (tahrir namud) on unpolished (bi-muhra) paper in the year 1252/1836-7, and also asks forgiveness for his sins. As he notes, the paper he has used is not of high quality, neither is the gold background he has used to highlight the verses executed in black nasta'liq script framed by cloud bands. Although Muhammad Mahdi Husayni remains unknown, he seems to have been a calligrapher in nasta'liq script active in 19th-century Iran or India.
- This calligraphic fragment includes a Persian poem that describes how luxury goods like semi-precious stones and furs are devoid of any inherent worth. Beginning with an invocation to "God, the Glorified" (huwa al-mu'izz), the verses read:
- Script: nasta'liq
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
16th century, A calligraphic page in Persian from Nizami's (d. 614/1218) third book, part of his Quintet (Khamsah), the tale of: "Laylah and Majnun meet in school." Persian Romeo and Juliet tale.
- (Trans. R. Gelpke, "The Story of Layla and Majnun" [Oxford: B. Cassirer, 1966], p. 18).
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 9.9 (w) x 15.3 (h) cm
- The layout of the page and nasta'liq script are typical of manuscript's of Nizami's "Khamsah" produced in 16th-century Persia (Iran). Paintings would have accompanied such a manuscript, as in the case of another fragment representing the fainting of Laylah and Majnun held in the collections of the Library of Congress (see 1-86-154.123 R).
- The layout of this fragment, with text written in horizontal and diagonal lines, is called a "carpet" page. The triangular spaces left empty by the diagonal verses have been filled with illuminated decoration. The "carpet" page structure is usually found at the end of a particular chapter or scene and oftentimes precedes a painting. One can surmise that a depiction of Laylah and Majnun's encounter in school would have appeared immediately after this text folio.
- This calligraphic fragment describes the first encounter between the star-crossed lovers Laylah and Majnun when they are children in school (maktab) as described in Nizami's (d. 614/1218) third book of his Quintet (Khamsah). Nizami describes how Qays (a.k.a Majnun) was sent to school by his father in order to learn how to read and write. One day, however, young Qays noticed a lovely girl with hair as black as night (literally, laylah) and fell deeply in love with her:
- While all their friends were toiling at their books / These two were trying other ways of learning. / Reading love's grammar in each other looks, / Glances to them were marks which they were earning. / Their minds were freed from spelling by love's spell, / They practiced, writing notes full of caress. / The others learned to count, while they could tell, / That nothing ever counts but tenderness.
- Script: nasta'liq
Qāḍīʹzādah ʻalá al-Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʼah
قاضي زادة على الملخص في الهيئة
Qāḍīʹzādah, Mūsá ibn Muḥammad, -approximately 1436
Abd, Muḥammad Riḍā, former owner
Manṣūrī, Maḥmūd al-Imām, former owner
Salīm, Muḥammad former owner
Mansuri Collection (Library of Congress)
Qāḍīʹzādah ʻalá al-Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʼah
قاضي زادة على الملخص في الهيئة
Qāḍīʹzādah, Mūsá ibn Muḥammad, -approximately 1436
Abd, Muḥammad Riḍā, former owner
Manṣūrī, Maḥmūd al-Imām, former owner
Salīm, Muḥammad former owner
Mansuri Collection (Library of Congress)
Turi:
Qo'lyozma
Davlati:
Amerika Qoʻshma Shtatlari
Inventor raqami:
2008401029
Hujjat yuklab olingan manba:
Library of Congress
Saqlanish joyi:
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
A commentary on al-Jighmīnī's book on astronomy, al-Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʼah.
The author of this commentary, Ṣalāh al-Din Musa ibn Muḥammad, also known as Qādī Zāda (the son of the judge), was born in Bursa (present-day Turkey) in 1364 and died in Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan) in 1436. His first teacher, al-Fanāri, suggested that he move to the scientific centers of the time, Herat in Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan) or Bukhara or Samarkand in Transoxiana, in order to develop his extraordinary ability in the mathematical and astronomical sciences. Following this advice, Qāḍī Zāda presented himself to the Samarkand court of the very promising Ulugh Beg (1394-1449), who was just 17 years old at the time. Ulugh Beg became Qāḍī Zāda's most talented pupil and assured him the funds for a life of study in Samarkand. Combining research in local facilities (including the famous Ulugh Beg Observatory built in the 1420s) with his educational activity, Qāḍī Zāda wrote a number of commentaries on works of mathematics and astronomy, including the one preserved in this manuscript. Most likely intended as a didactic work, this treatise is an extensive commentary on an astronomical textbook by Šaraf al-Dīn Mahmūd ibn Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Jaġmīnī, Mulahhas fī al-Hay'a Al-Basīta (The compendium of plain astronomy). Qāḍī Zāda's commentary, though widely expanding on the contents of the Mulahhas, tends to follow its structure, dealing with the configuration of the celestial and terrestrial worlds and the divisions of the created bodies, the celestial orbs, and the Earth. The manuscript is enriched by many marginal notes written in different hands, reflecting the high scientific and educational value attributed to Qāḍī Zāda's commentary after his death. World Digital Library.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
ca. 1028/1619, Page from "Farhang-i Jahangiri" a Persian-language dictionary by Jamal al-Din Husayn b. Fakhr al-Din Hasan Inju Shirazi, from 1619 in Nasta'liq script Mughal and Safavid courts.
- A marginal gloss cross-referenced to the main text with the number 4 appears in the center and outside the right vertical purple frame. This gloss offers additional comments and poetical excerpts on one of the words listed in the main text.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.8 (w) x 21.7 (h) cm
- The author of this Persian-language farhang (dictionary) was Jamal al-Din Husayn b. Fakhr al-Din Hasan Inju Shirazi (d. 1035/1626), a learned man from an old Persian noble (sayyid) family who came from Persia to Akbar's court in India. There, he held high offices and began writing his dictionary in 1005/1596-7 at the ruler's request, basing himself on Persian poems and previous lexicographical works. Due to the scope of his farhang and continuous revisions, he did not complete the dictionary until after Akbar's (d. 1014/1605) death, presenting the work in 1608 to his successor Jahangir instead. For this reason, Jamal al-Din's Persian dictionary came to be known as the the "Farhang-i Jahangiri", or "Jahangir's dictionary." Along with the "Burhan-i Qati'" and the "Farhang-i Rashidi", it is one of the three most important Persian-language dictionaries produced in Mughal India (Rypka 1968, 431).
- The folio's margins are decorated with birds, storks, phoenixes, and mythical animals in a garden landscape painted in gold ink. During the early 20th century, a section of the "Farhang-i Jahangiri" was acquired by the French art dealer Demotte, who cut out its pages and used the decorative margins as mounts for Safavid and Mughal paintings (Sotheby's London, Arts of the Islamic World, 3 May 2001, lot 61). In some cases, paintings remounted on margins originally intended for the dictionary retain the marginal glosses accompanying the main text (see York Leach 1992: 64, and cat. nos. 16 and 20).
- The recto of this folio provides a list of words starting with the letters "f-r" executed in red ink and followed by their definitions and sample usages in poetical excerpts. This list of "f-r" words continues in alphabetical order on the folio's verso (1-87-154.61a V).
- This fragment is the third folio of the "Farhang-i Jahangiri", a Persian lexicon purportedly executed in Agra in 1028/1618-19. A total of four folios of this work are held in the collections of the Library of Congress (see 1-87-154.61a V, 1-85-154-61b R & V, 1-85-154-61c R & V, 1-87-154.61d R & V).
- Script: nasta'liq
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
16th-17th centuries, Illuminated frontispiece of a Persian manuscript intended for a compendium (divan) of poems, made in the 16th or 17th century.
- Dimensions of Empty (Text) Panel: 10.7 (w) x 20.6 (h) cm
- The frontispiece consists of a central roundel decorated with seven blue petals stemming from a central orange circle bordered on its perimeter by a gold strip. The outer perimeter is decorated in red, and delicate finials emanate like rays from the central roundel. The corners of the central panel are also filled with illuminated patterns, forming a diamond-shaped plain panel. All around the rectangular panel further decorative medallions ornament the margins of the page, which is pasted to the aforementioned cardboard.
- This frontispiece may have belonged to a Persian manuscript made in the 16th or 17th century.
- This illuminated frontispiece was intended for a compendium (divan) of poems, which included collections (kulliyat) of fragmentary verses (muqat'at) and lyric poems (qasa'id), among many. The names of each book (kitab) is inscribed in white ink in every individual rectangular panel on the vertical left border of the frontispiece. These title panels are painted directly on the cardboard, which serves as a backing for the rest of the salvaged frontispiece. For this reason, they possibly are not part of the original piece.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
16th-17th centuries, Persian poem on: The lover's lament about his beloved's indifference, written in the Nasta'liq script in the 16th-17th Cent. Iran or Central Asia.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 7.8 (w) x 15.8 (h) cm
- My body is exhausted from sorrow, what will I do? / The fire is in my burning heart, what will I do? / Because of (her), who brands my deplorable heart / (She) is a garden and spring for others, what will I do?
- Tanam az ghusa figar ast, cha khwaham kardan? / Atasham dar dil-i zar ast, cha khwaham kardan? / Anka panbaya dagh ast dil-i zaram az u / Hama-ra bagh u bahar ast, cha khwaham kardan?
- The fragment is neither dated nor signed. However, it may have been produced in Iran during the 16th or 17th century.
- The verses are executed in black nasta'liq script on a beige paper decorated with bird and leaf designs painted in gold. The main text panel is bordered by a number of other verses in both diagonal and vertical registers forming a frame. The entire composition is pasted to a larger sheet of paper decorated with a pounced vegetal motif in green and backed by cardboard.
- This calligraphic fragment includes a lover's lament about his beloved's indifference. The verses read:
- Script: nasta'liq
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
Fragmentary collection of poems and selections from poems., [19th century], Manuscript.
- Persian.
- Title devised by cataloger.
- Scribe not identified.
- Written in Iran.
- Paper;
- Nastaʻliq and shikastah.
- [Collation]
- Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M169.
- Not bound.
- Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
19th century, Qajar era Siyah Mashq Calligraphy based on Nasta'liq script 19th cent. Shekastah (Broken) Script.
- A number of other siyah mashq sheets are held in the Library of Congress. See in particular 1-84-154.44, 1-87-154.45, 1-84-154.46, 1-85-154.88, and 1-86-154.144.
- As an established genre, practice sheets abided to certain rules of formal compositions, largely guided by rhythm and repetition (Safwat 1996, 32). Although siyah mashq sheets survive from ca. 1600, they seem to have been a particularly popular genre during the second half of the 19th century, i.e., during the artistic revival spearheaded by the Qajar ruler Nasir al-Din Shah, who reigned 1848-1896 (Mehdi Zadeh 1369/1950: 44-45 and 54-55; and Diba and Ekhtiar 1998: 239-41).
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 24.4 (w) x 19.3 (h) cm
- These sheets -- known as siyah mashq (lit. black practice) in Persian -- were entirely covered with writing as a means to practice calligraphy and conserve paper. In time, they became collectible items and thus were signed and dated (this fragment, however, does not appear signed or dated). Many fragments such as this one were provided with a variety of decorative borders and pasted to sheets ornamented with plants or flowers painted in gold. Even the calligraphic exercise itself appears on a background of painted clouds or leaves. For example, a number of siyah mashq sheets executed at the turn of the 17th century by the great Iranian master of nasta'liq script, 'Imad al-Hasani (d. 1024/1615), were decorated in gold, preserved in albums (muraqqa'at), and provided with illumination by Muhammad Hadi ca. 1160-1172/1747-1759 (Akimushkin 1996: 65, 70, 87, and 91).
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
17th-18th centuries, An excerpt from Sa'di's (d. 691/1292) "Gulistan" (The Rose Garden), with anecdotal stories (hikayat), written in black Shikastah-Nasta'liq Script in 17th-18th Cent. Iran.
- Calligraphic sheets written in shikastah-nasta'liq script similar to this fragment were produced in Iran during the 17th and 18th centuries.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.5 (w) x 13.6 (h) cm
- The text is executed in black shikastah-nasta'liq on a cream-colored paper. The lines of text, which alternate diagonally, are framed by cloud bands on a gold background. The text panel is framed with red, pink, and green borders, and is pasted to a larger sheet of paper backed by cardboard. In the lower right corner of the frames appears a minute scribble, which may be the calligrapher's signature. Unfortunately, it now is illegible.
- This calligraphic fragment appears to comprise an excerpt from Shaykh Sa'di's (d. 691/1292) "Gulistan" (The Rose Garden), in which he provides readers with a variety of anecdotes or stories (hikayat) with moral lessons. This text describes the anger of a king toward his servant and his desire to punish him, upon which the servant writes a letter to stress his faithfulness and to seek forgiveness. This particular story stresses the virtue of royal clemency.
- Script: shikastah-nasta'liq
Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Annotatsiya:
ca. 1500-1550, Eulogistic composition in Persian (insha') to a king written in the "hanging" ta'liq script by Persian calligrapher, Kamal al-Din Husayn (d. 974/1566-7). Arabic prayers (du'as) around the boarder.
- Dimensions of Written Surface: 14 (w) x 24.5 (h) cm
- He was a contemporary of Shah Mahmud al-Nishapuri, one of whose works is held in the collections of the Library of Congresss (1-87-154.155).
- In the lower right corner of the central text panel appears the calligrapher's signature in black ink. It reads: mashaqahu al-faqir al-haqir ikhtiyar al-munshi, or "written by the poor, lowly, elderly secretary." Ikhtiyar al-Munshi ("the Elderly Secretary") was the nickname (laqab) of Kamal al-Din Husayn (d. 974/1566-7), a calligrapher active during the reign of the Safavid ruler, Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76). The monarch supported his work in Tabriz and offered him a number of rewards, which Kamal al-Din refused. He also made him his personal secretary and bestowed upon him the honorific epithet "the Elderly, Royal Secretary" (Ikhtiyar al-Munshi al-Sultani). Even though he was blind in one eye, he was a master of all calligraphic scripts, especially nasta'liq (Huart 1972, 232). Judging from this specimen -- as well as others in the Library of Congress (1-87-154.157) and the Sackler Gallery of Art (29.63 and 29.64) -- he also was a master of ta'liq and tarassul.
- This calligraphic fragment includes a central panel with an eulogistic composition (insha') to a king written in the "hanging" ta'liq script. Except for one line written in black ink, all other horizontal and diagonal lines are written in white and outlined in black ink. Above the text panel appears a bayt (verse) divided into two columns about the power of miracles (mu'jizat) composed by the great Persian poet Nizami (d. 614/1218). The bayt is written in black nasta'liq script on beige paper. All around the text panel appears a blue border inscribed with Arabic prayers (du'as) written in black ta'liq script. The entirety of the composition is pasted to a large beige paper decorated with gold flecks and backed by cardboard.
- Script: various
