Five Poems (Quintet)
(Islamic World , Islamic Manuscripts, Manuscripts and Rare Books)
This illuminated and illustrated copy of the Khamsah (quintet) of Nizami Ganjavi (died 605 AH/AD 1209), Walters manuscript W.609, was written by Yar Muhammad al-Haravi in 922 AH/AD 1516. Written in 4 columns in black Nasta'liq script, this manuscript opens with a double-page illuminated frontispiece signed by 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn 'Abd al-Fattah ibn 'Ali. It contains 35 illustrations that were repainted in India during the 12th century AH/AD 18th. The seal of Muhammad Asharf ibn Muhammad Khatam al-Husayni, dated 1173 AH/AD 1759-1760 appears on fols. 1a and 401a. It is possible that the brown leather binding with center and side panels brushed with gold is original to the manuscript but was repaired at a later stage in the codex's history.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Muhammad Asharf ibn Muhammad Khatam al-Husayni, 1173 AH/AD 1759-1760 [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [seal impression on fols. 1a and 401a]; Husayn …[?], 1308 AH/AD 1890-1891 [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [ownership statement on fol. 1b]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
2012 | Paradise Imagined: Images of the Garden in the Islamic and Christian World. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
1997 | The Divine Word and Sacred Sites of Islam. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Afghanistan (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 11 7/16 x W: 6 7/8 in. (29 x 17.5 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.609