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Manuscript/Mixed Material Poetic verses offering advice

About this Item

Title

  • Poetic verses offering advice

Created / Published

  • 17th-18th centuries

Headings

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

Notes

  • -  Safavid era Persian poetic verses offering advice, written in black Nasta'liq script tending towards shikastah (Shekasteh) script.
  • -  Although the fragment is neither dated nor signed, the script and the fragility of the paper suggest that the text was executed in Iran or India during the 17th-18th centuries. Papers used at an earlier period were thicker and less prone to worm damage.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 8 (w) x 17.7 (h) cm
  • -  Nevertheless, a note on the fragment's recto attempts to attribute the calligraphic sample to the Persian calligrapher 'Abd al-Baqi (d. 926/1518). 'Abd al-Baqi was a native of the desert town of Yazd, a descendant of the famous mystical saint Shah Ni'matullah Vali (d. 832/1429), a minister of the Persian king Shah Isma'il I (d. 930/1524), and a reputed calligrapher in ta'liq script (Qadi Ahmad 1959, 88; and Huart 1972, 319). However, it appears unlikely that the fragment is by 'Abd al-Baqi or even executed at his time (ca. 1450-1500).
  • -  This thin fragment is quite damaged by worm holes and has been pasted to a larger sheet for the purpose of preservation. Written in black nasta'liq script tending towards shikastah, the text begins with an iambic quatrain (ruba'i), continues with two single verses (tak bayt), and ends with a lyrical poem (ghazal) with the rhyming terminal sound "sati." The verses are separated by diagonal lines in red ink, and the term "also" (aydan) at the top of the left column initiates the ghazal. These various poetical verses provide the reader with advice (nasihat) to trust in God; they also warn of the futility of worldly goods.
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-04-713.15.2

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 16.5 (w) x 24.3 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714514

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:

Poetic Verses Offering Advice. 17th-18th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714514/.

APA citation style:

Poetic Verses Offering Advice. 17th-18th Centuries. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714514/.

MLA citation style:

Poetic Verses Offering Advice. 17th-18th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714514/>.