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Manuscript/Mixed Material Sa'di's "Gulistan" (The Rose Garden)

About this Item

Title

  • Sa'di's "Gulistan" (The Rose Garden)

Created / Published

  • 15th-16th centuries

Headings

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

Notes

  • -  Shirazi style Safavid Persian illuminated manuscript in Nasta'liq.
  • -  At the very bottom of the text frame appears a barely legible square seal impression. Some of the decipherable words in the impression include hamid ("the praised"), 'azim ("the great"), and 'abduhu ("his servant").
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 9.4 (w) x 7.3 (h) cm
  • -  Reader! For him who wrote this book, ask grace; / And let the scribe, too, in your prayers find place: / Next for yourself whatever you wish pray; / Lastly, a blessing for the owner say. / By aid of the All-Gracious King, / This work here to an end we bring.
  • -  Sa'di notes that he composed his "Gulistan" to teach the rules of conduct in life both to kings and dervishes. It is evident that his work was a tool of instruction and commentary as witnessed by the extensive marginal glosses and explanatory notes explaining poetical expressions executed in red or black ink, cross-checked with a corresponding note within the original text. A few notes in red ink in the main text frame also develop some of the terms or expressions: for example, the first line praising God (Khudavand) bears a small note in red above specifying that God is Lord (Sahib) and King (Malik).
  • -  The main text is executed in the Persian cursive script called nasta'liq. It is placed in three columns, two of which are written horizontally and the third diagonally. At the top and bottom of the third column bearing diagonal writing appear two corner pieces (thumb-pieces) decorated with a gold vine with an orange bud: this motif is intended to fill the triangular space left blank by the intersection of the diagonal and horizontal registers.
  • -  The Persian poet and prose writer Shaykh Sa'di Shirazi (ca. 1213-1292) composed his "Gulistan", a didactic work in both prose and verse, in 1258 AD. It contains a number of moralizing stories that bear similarities to the fables of Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695). In Persian lands, his maxims were highly valued and manuscripts of his work were widely copied and illustrated. Although Sa'di's "Gulistan" was much admired, his best-known work remains the "Bustan" (The Fruit Garden), which also contains a number of histories, personal anecdotes, fables, and moral instructions. Sa'di was a contemporary of the famous poet Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273).
  • -  The verso of this fragment bears the last page of Sa'di's "Gulistan" (The Rose Garden). This terminal page includes several notes, including in the lowermost left corner, that "The Rose Garden" has come to a close (Tammam al-Kitab Gulistan). In the conclusion of his work, as found on this folio, Sa'di states:
  • -  This fragment includes the beginning of Sa'di's "Gulistan" (The Rose Garden) on its recto, as well as the work's final page on its verso (1-86-154.120 V). The first page includes the work's title (Kitab-i [...]istan) written in white ink on a blue background decorated with orange leaf spirals. The rest of the illuminated top panel (sarloh) contains interlacing flowers and gold panels on a blue ground.
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-86-154.120

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 27.5 (w) x 16.5 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714510

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:

Sa'di's "Gulistan" The Rose Garden. 15th-16th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714510/.

APA citation style:

Sa'di's "Gulistan" The Rose Garden. 15th-16th Centuries. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714510/.

MLA citation style:

Sa'di's "Gulistan" The Rose Garden. 15th-16th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714510/>.