Manuscript; Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; headings in white; 304 folios with 5 sarlawhs (1 verso, 75verso, 128verso, 186verso, 263 verso), and 17 paintings (13 recto, 29 recto, 55 verso, 68 verso, 88 verso, 96 recto, 120 recto, 157 recto, 160 verso, 164 verso, 170 recto, 174 verso, 201 verso, 247 recto, 251 recto, 259 recto, 295 verso); inscriptions on folio 304 recto; standard page: 4 columns, 22 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in black leather over paper pasteboards with gold block-stamped exterior covers and doublures of leather.
Inscriptions:
Fol. 304 recto: This book, the Khamsa of Nizami, was given to me by the most magnificent, imperial, spiritual. May the spirits of the world be his ransom...Mirza Karim Khan, the true son of ...Ali Khan, the commander of the Kirman cavalry, on Sunday the 24th of the month of Shahriwar in the year [A.H.] 1264 [A.D. January 31, 1848] equivalent to qoy yil [year of the sheep]. O God, through the sacrosanctity of the esoteric Muhammadan truth, never decrease the good fortune of the king of the universe, and through the representative yet to emerge of the family of Muhammad, never decrease the shadow of [the king] and...Mirza Karim and maintain glory forever through Muhammad and his family. The date of [A.H.] the 24th of the month of Safar 1264 [A.D. January 31, 1848].
