Description
Walters manuscript W.625 is an illuminated copy of the collection of poems known as Masnavi-i ma'navi by Jalal al-Din Rumi (died 672 AH/AD 1273), likely produced in Timurid Iran. The Masnavi-i ma'navi, which is a didactic poetical work divided into 6 books or booklets (daftars), is of particular importance in the tradition of Sufism. According to the colophon, written in Arabic, this copy was completed in 865 AH/AD 1461 by Ahmad ibn Hajji Abi Bakr al-Katib (fol. 311a). Each of the 6 books is introduced by a preface in Arabic or Persian, executed largely in gold Tawqi' script (fols. 1b-2a, 51b-52a, 95b-96a, 155b-156a, 203b-204a, and 256b-257a). The text proper is written in black Nasta'liq script, with illuminated titlepieces inscribed in a decorated New Abbasid (Broken Cursive) Style (fols. 2b, 52b, 96b, 156b, 204b, and 257b). The dark red leather binding is not original to the manuscript and dates to the 13th century AH/AD 19th.
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