Showing content from http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W600/description.html below:
Walters Ms. W.600, Book of kings (Shahnama)
Home > Digitized Walters Manuscripts
This document is a tranformation of a TEI P5 XML manuscript description incorporating images. If you have trouble reading special or non-Latin characters on this page, please make sure you have appropriate Unicode fonts installed and an up-to-date web browser.
Walters Ms. W.600, Book of kings (Shahnama)
Browse images (Browse images in a new window) | TEI in XML format
Manuscript
Book of kings (Shahnama)
Text title
Vernacular: شاÙÙØ§Ù
Ù
Author
Authority name: Firdawsī
As-written name: AbÅ« al-QÄsim Ḥasan ibn IsḥÄq FirdawsÄ« ṬūsÄ«
Name, in vernacular: اب٠اÙÙØ§Ø³Ù
ØØ³Ù Ø¨Ù Ø§Ø³ØØ§Ù ÙØ±Ø¯ÙØ³Ù Ø·ÙØ³Ù
Note: Author dates preferred by cataloger: d. 411 or 416 AH / 1020-5 CE
Abstract
This is an illuminated and illustrated Safavid copy of the Book of kings (ShÄhnÄmah) by FirdawsÄ« (d. 411 or 416 AH / 1020-5 CE), dating to the tenth century AH / sixteenth CE. The text is largely written in black nastaÊ¿lÄ«q script with headings in blue on a polychrome ground. The codex opens with an illuminated medallion (fol. 1a), followed by a double-page illuminated frontispiece (fols. 1b-2a), poorly preserved. The preface, ordered by BÄysunghur in 829 AH / 1425-6 CE, begins on fol. 2b. The ShÄhnÄmah text begins on fol. 14b with an inscribed illuminated titlepiece. It is divided into two parts. Eighteen paintings illustrate the text. The black lacquer binding with lobed central ovals and pendants is not contemporary with the manuscript and dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.
Date
10th century AH / 16th CE; damaged date in the colophon reads: end of Dhū al-Ḥijjah 9[?]5
Genre
Historical
Literary -- Poetry
Language:
The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.
Colophon
fol. 620a:
- Transliteration: Final colophon (fol. 620a): tammat al-kitÄb bi-Ê¿awn al-Malik al-WahhÄb fÄ« awÄkhÄ«r shahr DhÄ« al-Ḥijjah al-ḥarÄm /1/ sanat khams [â¦] tisÊ¿imi<ʾ>ah al-hijrÄ«yah wa-á¹£allá AllÄh Ê¿alá /2/ khayr khalqih [â¦] .á¹f [?] ḥqqh [?] Muḥammad wa-Älih /3/ wa-ajsÄbih wa-Ê¿itratih ajmaʿīn ilá /4/ yawm al-dÄ«n wa-sallam taslÄ«man /5/ dÄyiman kathÄ«ran /6/ abadan /7/
- Comment: In addition to 620a, colophons are also on 14a and 303a: the first, which has no date, gives the title of the preface as DÄ«bÄchah-i BÄysunghurÄ«; the second marks the end of the first part of the book; and the third has a damaged date: end of DhÅ« al-Ḥijjah 9[?]5
Extent
Foliation: i+621+i
Collation
Catchwords: Written obliquely on versos
Dimensions
19.0 cm wide by 32.5 cm high
Written surface
12.5 cm wide by 25.5 cm high
Layout
- Columns: 4
- Ruled lines: 25
- Framing lines in blue, gold, brown, and black
Contents:
fols. 1a - 620b:
- Title: ShÄhnÄmah
- Author: Firdawsī
- Text note: Preface by BÄysunghur MÄ«rzÄ ibn ShÄhrukh, composed in 829 AH / 1425-6 CE (fols. 1b-14a); main text divided into two parts, the second part with the title LuhrÄsbnÄmah (fol. 303b); double-page illuminated frontispiece before the preface (fols. 1b-2a) badly damaged
- Hand note: Written in nastaʿlīq script in black, blue, and gold with chapter/section headings in blue on a decorated background; incidentals in blue and gold
- Decoration note: Eighteen illustrations; double-page illuminated frontispiece with a faded inscription in four cartouches introducing the work and author (fols. 1b-2a); illuminated medallion (shamsah) (fol. 1a); titlepiece with the inscription aghÄz-i kitÄb-i ShÄhnÄmah in white ink on a decorated background (fol. 14b); titlepiece inscribed with the title of the second part: KitÄb-i LuhrÄsb nÄmah (fol. 303b); three tailpieces around the colophons (fols. 14a, 303a, and 620a); rectangular panels for chapter/section headings; frame
Decoration:
Upper board outside:
- Title: Binding
- Form: Binding
- Label: This black lacquer binding with lobed central ovals and pendants is not contemporary with the manuscript and probably dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.
fol. 1a:
- Title: Illuminated medallion
- Form: Medallion
- Label: This illuminated medallion (shamsah) with a blue ground and gold arabesques and polychrome roundels opens the codex. There are later inscriptions, including an ownership entry dated 12 JumÄdá I 1204 AH / 1789 CE. The seal at the left gives the name Aḥmad.
fol. 1b:
- Title: Double-page illuminated frontispiece
- Form: Frontispiece
- Label: This is the right side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece that precedes the preface of the text. The inscriptions are not legible.
fol. 2a:
- Title: Double-page illuminated frontispiece
- Form: Frontispiece
- Label: This is the left side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece that precedes the preface of the text. The inscriptions are not legible.
fol. 2b:
- Title: Text page of ShÄhnÄmah preface
- Form: Text page
- Label: This is the first page of the preface ordered by BÄysunghur in 829 AH / 1425-6 CE. The text is largely written in black nastaÊ¿lÄ«q script with incidentals in blue and gold. The preface ends on fol. 14a with a colophon.
fol. 14b:
- Title: Incipit page with illuminated titlepiece
- Form: Incipit; titlepiece
- Label: This illuminated titlepiece is inscribed aghÄz-i kitÄb-i ShÄhnÄmah (the beginning of the book of the ShÄhnÄmah) in white ink on a blue ground with polychrome decoration.
fol. 17b:
- Title: The court of Kayūmars
- Form: Illustration
fol. 48b:
- Title: ZÄl in the court of MiḥrÄb of Kabul
- Form: Illustration
fol. 91a:
- Title: Rustam slays the White Dīv (the seventh feat)
- Form: Illustration
fol. 115a:
- Title: Rustam mortally wounds SuhrÄb
- Form: Illustration
fol. 145a:
- Title: The beheading of SiyÄvush
- Form: Illustration
fol. 163a:
- Title: Kay Khusraw attacks the fortress of Bahman
- Form: Illustration
fol. 178a:
- Title: The Turanians fight the Persians
- Form: Illustration
fol. 216a:
- Title: The combat of Rustam and PÅ«lÄdvand
- Form: Illustration
fol. 236b:
- Title: Rustam rescues Bīzhan from the pit
- Form: Illustration
fol. 264b:
- Title: Gustaham fights LahhÄk and FarshÄ«dvard
- Form: Illustration
fol. 303b:
- Title: LuhrÄsp enthroned
- Form: Illustration
- Label: This is the right side of a double-page illustration introducing the Book of LuhrÄsp. The inscription in the middle eight-pointed star of the titlepiece reads: KitÄb-i LuhrÄsb nÄmah.
fol. 367a:
- Title: Rustam kills IsfandiyÄr with an arrow
- Form: Illustration
fol. 387b:
- Title: Alexander the Great and the dying Darius
- Form: Illustration
fol. 421a:
- Title: ArdashÄ«r recognizes ShÄpÅ«r during a polo game
- Form: Illustration
fol. 442a:
- Title: BahrÄm GÅ«r hunting with ÄzÄdah
- Form: Illustration
fol. 544a:
- Title: BahrÄm Gur enthroned after killing two lions
- Form: Illustration
fol. 620b:
- Title: A festive gathering in a landscape
- Form: Illustration
Binding
The binding is not original.
Probably thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE; black lacquer (no flap); central ovals and pendants decorated with floral designs on a gold background
Provenance
Seal impression with the name Aḥmad (fol. 1a)
Ownership entry dated 12 JumÄdá I 1204 AH / 1789 CE (fol. 1a)
Acquisition
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest
Bibliography
Storey, C. A. Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey, Vol. 1. (London: Luzac, 1927- ), 112-159.
Richard, Francis. Catalogue des manuscrits persans. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1989), nos. 228-9.
Contributors
Principal cataloger: Gacek, Adam
Catalogers: Landau, Amy; Smith, Sita
Editor: Bockrath, Diane
Conservators: Jewell, Stephanie; Quandt, Abigail
Contributors: Barrera, Christina; Emery, Doug; Herbert, Lynley; Noel, William; Simpson, Shreve; Tabritha, Ariel; Toth, Michael B.; Valle, Chiara
Publisher
The Walters Art Museum
License
Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.
RetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo
| Open a GitHub Issue
Search and Browse the WWW like it's 1997 | Search results from DuckDuckGo
HTML:
3.2
| Encoding:
UTF-8
| Version:
0.7.4