Creative Commons License
Five Poems (Quintet)
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Islamic World , Islamic Manuscripts)
Walters manuscript W.607 is an illuminated and illustrated Safavid copy of 4 of the 5 poems that comprise the Khamsah (quintet) of Nizami Ganjavi (died 605 AH/AD 1209). It does not include Laylá va Majnun. The text was copied in black Nasta'liq script by Yadkar the Calligrapher (al-Katib) in 935 AH/AD 1529. An illuminated double-page frontispiece opens the codex (fols. 1b-2a), and each poem is introduced with an illuminated headpiece (fols. 33b, 119b, 180b, and 261b). The 27 illustrations appear to have been repainted in India during the 12th or early 13th century AH/AD 18th or early 19th. The manuscript is bound in late Zand lacquer boards with figural scenes depicting Bahram Gur hunting and Khusraw watching Shirin bathing. The upper board illustrating Bahram Gur is dated 12[0]5 AH/AD 1790-1791.
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.
Exhibitions
| 1997 | The Divine Word and Sacred Sites of Islam. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Iran (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 11 13/16 x W: 7 1/16 in. (30 x 18 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.607
Do you have additional information?
Related Objects
Aristotle Teaching his Students
Alexander the Great at the Fountain of Life with the Prophets Khidr and Ilyas
Alexander the Great Admires his Portrait Ordered by Queen Nushabah
Death of King Darius
Victory of Alexander the Great over the Ethiopians
Alexander the Great Fighting the Ethiopians
Bahram Gur in the White Pavilion
Bahram Gur in the Sandalwood Pavilion
Bahram Gur in the Blue Pavilion
Bahram Gur in the Yellow Pavilion
Bahram Gur in the Black Pavilion
Bahram Gur Kills a Wild Ass
Bahram Gur Seizes the Crown After Having Killed Two Lions
Shiruyah Stabs Khusraw, his Father
Reconciliation of Khusraw and Shirin
Khusraw and Shirin in the Palace
Khusraw Announcing his Marriage to Shakar
Farhad Carves an Image of Shirin in Rock
Khusraw and Shirin Enthroned
Ascension of Khusraw to the Throne
Shahpur Visiting Shirin
Abu Ja'far Muhammad Atabak Enthroned
An Old Woman Speaking with a Confidant of King Jamshid
An Old Man Brought Before a Tyrant
An Old Woman Implores Sultan Sanjar for Help
Nushirvan and his Prime Minster Dastur
