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Collection of Poems (Divan)
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Islamic World , Islamic Manuscripts)
Walters manuscript W.635 is an illuminated and illustrated Collection of poems (divan) by Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz al-Shirazi (active 8th century AH/AD 14th), which was produced in India. According to the colophon, the manuscript was completed on the 19th Rajab 1202 (?) AH/AD 1788 (?). It opens with a double-page illuminated incipit (fols. 1b-2a) with headpiece that introduces the preface (dibachah) (fols. 1b-4b), followed by another double-page illuminated incipit with headpiece opening the main text of the Divan (fols. 5b-6a). The codex is decorated throughout with square and rectangular panels, as well as horizontal bands with floral decoration marking the end of odes, quatrains, or series of verses. There are 49 illustrations. The brown leather binding with medallion and pendants is contemporary with the manuscript.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
India (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 5 1/2 x W: 3 1/8 in. (14 x 8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
W.635