Treasures of Islamic Manuscript Painting from the Morgan
Niẓāmī Ganjavī (ca. 1141–1209) Majnūn Surrounded by Pairs of Animals in the Wilderness Khamsa (Quintet), in Persian, written by Mullā Fatḥ Muḥammad Probably Mughal Ahmedabad ca. 1618
Because of his love for Lailā, Majnūn not only became a madman but also a poet. A father had lost a son, and he was a prisoner in the land of love. He became increasingly separated from his friends, taking refuge in the wilderness. The wild animals did not attack him, or each other, becoming tame and friendly with the stranger in their midst. He became their friend and master, and they protected him. Although he withdrew from public society, the intensity of his love for Lailā never diminished. (LINK)
Sa˓dī Shīrāzī, Abū Cabd-Allāh Musharrif al-Din Ibn Muṣliḥ (ca. 1184–1292) Double-Page Opening for Sa˓dī Shīrāzī’s Būstān Kulliyyat (Collected Works), in Persian, written by Hidayāt al-Kātib al-Shīrāzī Persia, probably Shīrāz ca. 1575–85
Sa˓dī Shīrāzī, Anwari, and Firdausī were regarded as the three Persian Prophets of Poetry. There are no integral miniatures in this copy of Sa˓dī’s Kulliyyat, but some of its major textual divisions are marked with ornate double-page headings (sarlauḥs). Such is the case with his two most famous works, the Būstān (The Orchard) and the Gulistān (The Rose Garden). In the latter, Sa˓dī wrote that “The children of Adam are limbs to each other, having been created of one essence.” This was quoted by President Obama in an address to the Iranian people in 2009, when he argued that differences should not define us. (LINK)
Niẓāmī Ganjavī (ca. 1141–1209) Lailā and Qais in School Khamsa (Quintet), in Persian, written by Mullā Fatḥ Muḥammad Probably Mughal Ahmedabad ca. 1618
The children of two great chieftains, Lailā and Qais were sent to study under a learned teacher. When Lailā entered the schoolroom, love awakened in Qais’s heart, and he vowed to love her all his life. Thereafter he was able to do little else but stare at her, continually repeating her name. Others said he behaved like a madman, losing his heart and soul. People called him a madman, or majnūn, and henceforth he was known as Majnūn. Forbidden to see Lailā, he withdrew to the desert and befriended beasts. In the miniature, a youth, perhaps meant to be Qais, sits among the girls in the foreground. (LINK)
An Uzbek Prisoner Leaf from the Read Persian Album Afghanistan, Herat (probably)
Although the kneeling prisoner is secured by a wooden yoke, he still has his bow (in a case decorated with a simurgh, a mythical phoenix-like bird, chasing a rabbit), quiver, dagger, sword, and a red riding crop (whip). His large white turban features the typical Uzbek striated cone support with a dimpled tip. Although such representations of Uzbek prisoners date back to about 1550, they remained popular until the late sixteenth century, when Uzbek rule came to an end in Herat. (LINK)
An Aristocratic Smithy Leaf from the Read Persian, after Ḥabīb-Allāh al-Mashhadī Afghanistan, Herat
Part of a Persian prince’s education included gaining proficiency in a craft. For example, Ibrāhīm Mīrzā, the nephew of Shah Tahmāsp (r. 1524–76), excelled in carpentry and made musical instruments. Here a youth in a bright orange robe and henna-stained fingernails is making a horseshoe. This painting and three others in the Read Persian album appear to be copies of lost works by Ḥabīb-Allāh al-Mashhadī, an important painter at Governor Shāmlū’s court. (LINK)
Youth Flexing a Bow Leaf from the Read Persian Album, after Ḥabīb-Allāh al-Mashhadī. Afghanistan, Herat
One of the exercises practiced by Persian athletes was bow flexing. Such bows, clearly not meant for hunting, were supplied with discs that produced pleasant sounds when shot. According to Sufi belief, a beautiful adolescent is seen as a mirror reflecting a ray of Allāh’s beauty and was to be gazed upon. The line of accompanying poetry expands the Sufi idea of gazing at a youth (naẓar ila’l-murd): If it is a sin to gaze upon your face, Then let my eyes be ever drenched in sin. The miniature is after Ḥabīb-Allāh al-Mashhadī, a major painter at Ḥusain Shāmlū’s court. (LINK)
Firdausī ṭūsī, Abū˒ al-Qāsim (940–1020) The Armies of Iskandar and Dārā Battle Shāhnāma (Book of Kings), in Persian
Iskandar (Alexander the Great) was regarded as a great hero; his stories appear in several works, such as Firdausī’s Shāhnāma (Book of Kings), the Persian national epic, and Niẓāmī’s Khamsa. Firdausī wrote the epic—in some 50,000 couplets—between 980 and 1010. Shown here are the first two battles between the armies of Iskandar and Dārā (Darius), those at Issus (333 B.C.) and Gaugamela (331 B.C.) Both were won by Iskandar. Lahore flourished under the Mughals, but when this manuscript was made it was the capital city of the Sikhs, who were much indebted to Mughal culture. (LINK)
Firdausī ṭūsī, Abū˒ al-Qāsim (940–1020) King Shaput Zu˒l Aktaf Observes Mani’s Flayed Body Shāhnāma (Book of Kings), in Persian
This miniature appears in a sixteenth-century manuscript of Firdausī’s Shāhnāma (Book of Kings), the Persian national epic, written between 980 and 1010. He tells the story of Mani (ca. 216–276), a painter and prophet from China, who sought an audience with the king, Shapur, to seek his support as a prophet of a new religion. Shapur had doubts about his creed, however, and Mani was unable to address Shapur’s remarks concerning the faith of Zoroaster. (LINK)