Manuscript; Poetic anthology; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; 179 folios with 1 illuminated title page (folio 1 recto), 5 sarlawhs (fols. 2 verso, 68 verso, 92 verso, 131 verso, 158 verso), and 7 paintings including a double-page frontispiece (1 verso, 2 recto, 41 verso, 78 recto, 98 recto, 104 recto,160 recto); obliterated seal (folio1 recto); inscriptions (folio1 recto); an excerpt from another manuscript inserted into this volume; standard page: 2 columns, 15 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in black leather over paper pasteboards with gold block-stamped panels on the exterior covers. The doublures are of red leather with a gold block-stamped medallion and corner-pieces. The manuscript contains early examples of marbled paper.
Inscriptions:
Inscriptions on the title page (folio 1recto) a roundel (originating from another manuscript) contains the names of Mawlana Jami, Amir Hasan, Amir Suhayli, Shaykh Iraqi, Imad Faqih, Shaykh Awhadi, Khwaju Kermani, and Nasir Bukhari.
Provenance:
To 1907
Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914), London, to 1907 [1]
From 1907 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna in 1907 [2]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] See Original List of Persian Miniatures and Manuscripts, Miscellaneous section, S.I. 1587, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Curatorial Remark 1, Tara Desjardins, July 23, 2004, in the object record, which states: "Bought at Columbo."
[2] See note 1.
[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Previous custodian or owner:
Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914) (C.L. Freer source)
