Binding Boards from the Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusraw Dihlavi

Description This binding from Walters manuscript W.624 is composed of lacquer with pictorial scenes. It is no longer attached to the manuscript and the covers are separated. The upper cover depicts an encounter between a prince and a reclusive sage; the lower cover depicts a host of fairies pummeling some outnumbered divs. The doublures are decorated with a field of small floral pattern. The binding was restored probably in Europe in the 13th century AH/AD 19th.

Exhibitions

• Bindings from the Islamic World. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1988.
• Pearls of the Parrot of India: The Emperor Akbar's Illustrated "Khamsa," 1597-1598. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 2005-2006.

Provenance Muhammad Zaki, 1241 AH/AD 1825-1826 [mode of acquisition unknown] [oval seal, fols. 1a, 211a]; 'abd al-raji Muhammad Shafi', 1247 AH/AD 1831-1832 [mode of acquisition unknown] [rectangular seal fols. 1a, 211a]; Muhammad 'Ali [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [large oval seal with no date on fol. 211a]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters