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Manuscript/Mixed Material Bahram Gur in the yellow pavilion

About this Item

Title

  • Bahram Gur in the yellow pavilion

Created / Published

  • 16th century

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Iran--Shīrāz
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Nasta'liq

Notes

  • -  Bahram Gur in the yellow pavilion, from Nizami's "Haft Paykar" (Seven Thrones) from his "Khamsah" (Quintet), written in Nasta'liq script from Safavid era Shiraz Iran.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 13.5 (w) x 22 (h) cm. Dimensions of Painting: Verso: 16.2 (w) x 28.8 (h) cm
  • -  Here, Nizami describes the ruler's visit of the yellow pavilion (gunbad-i zar) on a Sunday (ruz-i yakshamba), an anecdote represented on the folio's verso (1-04-713.19.29 V). In this tale, Bahram Gur is disappointed by his concubines and convinces a woman, who first refuses his advances, to marry him (Meisami 1995: xvii-xviii). The ruler is shown seated in the upper left, surrounded by women offering food and playing musical instruments. The yellow dome of the pavilion breaks through the top horizontal margin, and a number of verses describing the events frame the painting at the top and bottom. (Meisami 1995: xvii-xviii).
  • -  The verses are executed in black nasta'liq script in four columns separated by gold gutters. Four verses in the paper's center are written diagonally, providing a clue to the end of one section, as well as the beginning of the subsequent tale of the yellow pavilion (whose title appears in the illuminated chapter heading in the bottom center).
  • -  This text describes an episode from the "Haft Paykar" (Seven Thrones) of Nizami (d. 614/1218), the fourth book from his "Khamsah" (Quintet). In this romantic allegory of love and frustration, the Sassanian ruler Bahram Gur (r. 420-438) visits seven pavilions on each of the seven days of the week.
  • -  This text page and the painting on the folio's verso are typical of Persian illustrated manuscripts of Nizami's "Khamsah" produced during the Safavid period. A great number of such works were made in 16th-century Shiraz (southwestern Persia/Iran) for export to Ottoman Turkey and Mughal India.
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-04-713.19.29

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 20.4 (w) x 30.7 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714568

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Bahram Gur in the yellow pavilion. 16th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714568/.

APA citation style:

Bahram Gur in the yellow pavilion. 16th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714568/.

MLA citation style:

Bahram Gur in the yellow pavilion. 16th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714568/>.