Top of page

Manuscript/Mixed Material Sa'di,"The Chinese Girl and the Slave"

About this Item

Title

  • Sa'di,"The Chinese Girl and the Slave"

Created / Published

  • 15th-16th centuries

Headings

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

Notes

  • -  Story 40 from Sa'di's (d. 691/1292) "Gulistan" (The Rose Garden), "The Chinese Girl and the Slave" written in black nasta'liq script during the Timurid and Safavid periods in Persia (Iran), i.e., during the 15th and 16th centuries.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 10.4 (w) x 19.5 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 10.5 (w) x 19.8 (h) cm
  • -  The text is written in black nasta'liq script on a blue paper framed by several borders and pasted to a beige paper decorated by flower and leaf motifs painted in gold. The prose part of the text is executed in continuous horizontal lines, while the poetical verses interspersed throughout the narrative are outlined by rectangular frames provided with central gutters. This layout is found in manuscripts of Sa'di's "Gulistan" produced during the Timurid and Safavid periods in Persia (Iran), i.e., during the 15th and 16th centuries.
  • -  The text on the recto describes the slave in an unflattering manner. While on the verso, the text continues by describing the king's giving away of the Chinese servant girl to the slave, since she was already "consumed." The terminal verses indeed conclude:
  • -  The thirsty heart does not wish for limpid water / Half of which was consumed by a fetid mouth. / How can a king's hand again touch / An orange after it has fallen into dung?
  • -  This fragment and its verso (1-85-154.98 V) include the text of Story 40 from Sa'di's (d. 691/1292) "Gulistan" (The Rose Garden). This story describes a king's giving away of a Chinese servant girl to his slave after she refused the king's drunken advances.
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-85-154.98

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 21.7 (w) x 32.5 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714630

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,"The Chinese Girl and the Slave". 15th-16th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714630/.

APA citation style:

Sa'di,"The Chinese Girl and the Slave". 15th-16th Centuries. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714630/.

MLA citation style:

Sa'di,"The Chinese Girl and the Slave". 15th-16th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714630/>.