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Collection of Poems (Divan)
(Islamic World , Manuscripts and Rare Books, Islamic Manuscripts)
Walters manuscript W.634 is an illuminated copy of the Collection of poems (divan) by Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz al-Shirazi (active 8th century AH/AD 14th). Written in Safavid Iran in the10th century AH/AD 16th in black Nasta'liq script, the codex opens with a double-page illuminated frontispiece that precedes a preface (dibachah) (fols. 1b-2a). An illuminated headpiece (fol. 7b) inscribed fa-Llah khayr hafizan or "God is the best protector" (Surat Yusuf, 12:64) introduces the initial verses of the Divan. There is an illuminated tailpiece inscribed with the work's final verses and a colophon with prayers for the prophet Muhammad and his family. The illumination of this manuscript exemplifies the Safavid style of the 10th century AH/AD 16th. The binding is not contemporary with the manuscript.
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.
Geographies
Iran (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 9 1/4 x W: 5 11/16 in. (23.5 x 14.5 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.634
