Oliver White
Head of Department
Lot 269•
A group of twelve illuminated leaves from a manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama, The Book of Kings, eight leaves with miniatures Delhi, circa 1800(12)
23 April 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £3,750 inc. premium
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A group of twelve illuminated leaves from a manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama, The Book of Kings, eight leaves with miniatures
Delhi, circa 1800
Delhi, circa 1800
Persian manuscript on paper, 21 lines to the page written in four columns of nasta'liq script in black ink, the text adjacent to the miniatures within cloudbands on a gold ground, headings in red in nasta'liq script, intercolumnar rules in red and black, inner margins ruled in blue, green and black, eight miniatures in gouache and gold, outer borders on the sides featuring miniatures richly decorated with intertwining floral motifs in colours and gold, marginal rosettes and cruciform ornaments in blue and gold, four leaves with illuminated headpieces in colours and gold, edges trimmed and frayed, detached, in modern plastic folders
280 x 165 mm. and slightly smaller(12)
280 x 165 mm. and slightly smaller(12)
Footnotes
The subjects of the miniatures are as follows:
Kay Khusraw and Farangis crossing the Oxus River to fight Afrasiyab.
Kay Kawus's ascent to the sky.
Rustam kills the King of Mazandaran.
Rustam kills the White elephant.
Rustam kills the White Div.
Rustam catches his horse Rakhsh.
The battle of Alexander with the Indian ruler Fur.
Siyavash's fire ordeal.
The other four folios consist of: the prose preface to the Shahnama known as the Abu Mansuri preface; the beginning of the main text of the Shahnama; the text before an illustration of Rustam killing Chengesh; and the beginning of Reign of Luhrasp, which is in the middle of the text and is often marked in manuscripts.