Manuscript; Divan-i Khata'i (Collected poems) by Shah Isma'il I (r. 1501-1524); Turkish in black nasta'liq script; illuminated headings in white; 50 folios with 3 paintings (2recto, 23verso, 24recto); standard page: 2 columns, 12 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript was originally bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards with gilt block-stamped designs on the exterior covers and doublures of marbled paper, the binding has been removed, the manuscript is now bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards stamped with the name of Vever with doublures of paper. The upper and lower covers both have a border of multiple fillets.
Inscriptions:
Folio 23verso: Inscribed on castle walls: "Founder of the Sultanate, the greatest sultan and most just, most noble emperor, liege lord of the kings of the Arabs and Persians, layer of the foundations of justice and munificence, spreader of the carpet of safety and security, Abu'l-Muzaffar Shah Isma'il Bahadur Khan."
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art (February 24 to May 13, 2007)
Hunt for Paradise: Courts Arts of Safavid Iran, 1501-1576 (October 16, 2003 to June 27, 2004)
Variations on a Script: Islamic Calligraphy from the Vever Collection (February 18 to September 16, 1990)
A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (November 20, 1988 to April 30, 1989)