Creative Commons License
Five Poems (Quintet)
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Islamic World , Islamic Manuscripts)
This copy of the Khamsah (quintet) of Nizami Ganjavi (died 605 AH/AD 1209), Walters manuscript W.605, was written by Abu Bakr Shah ibn Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Shahrastani and illuminated by Jamal al-Din ibn Muhammad al-Siddiqi al-Isfahani between 892 AH/AD 1486 and 900 AH/AD 1494-1495. The manuscript opens with a double-page illuminated frontispiece with an inscription giving the title of the work and the name of the author (fols. 1b-2a). There are 4illuminated titlepieces with the names of the individual poems and 26 repainted illustrations. According to evidence supplied by the colophons, the original binding was by the hand of Jamal al-Din ibn Muhammad al-Siddiqi al-Isfahani, as well. Unfortunately, it has not survived. The binding presently attached to the manuscript dates to the 12th century AH/AD 18th.
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
| 2014-2016 | From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1997 | The Divine Word and Sacred Sites of Islam. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Iran (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 9 1/16 x W: 6 5/16 in. (23 x 16 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.605
Do you have additional information?
Related Objects
Farhad, the Lover of Shirin, in the Presence of the King’s Messenger
Khusraw and Shirin Enthroned in the Presence of Courtiers
Khusraw Being Told about Farhad’s Love for Shirin
Laylá and Majnun Reunited in the Wilderness
Majnun Meeting his Mother in the Presence of Salim
Salim, a Youth from Baghdad, Visiting Majnun
Majun and his Father Embracing in the Wilderness
Nawfal, a Friend of Majnun, Fighting with Laylá’s Tribe
Laylá in a Garden in the Company of Young Women
An Old Man Speaking with a King's Confidant
