خمسۀ نظامی

Walters Ms. W.608, Five poems (quintet)

Walters Ms. W.608, Five poems (quintet)

Khamsah-i Niẓāmī

خمسه نظامى

Niẓāmī Ganjavī, 1140 or 41-1202 or 3 (author)

Ilyās ibn Yūsuf Niẓāmī Ganjavī (author)

الياس بن يوسف نظامى گنجوى (author)

Ḥabīb Allāh ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥusām (scribe)

This is an illuminated and illustrated copy of the Khamsah (quintet) by Niẓāmī Ganjavī (d. 605 AH / 1209 CE), completed by Ḥabīb Allāh ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥusām in Safavid Iran in Rabīʿ II 971 AH / 1563 CE. Illuminated titlepieces introduce the five poems, and there are thirty illustrations, the majority of which are attributable to thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE Qajar Iran. Ownership notes and seals indicating the provenance of this manuscript are found throughout the codex (fols. 1a, 2a, 153a, 177a, 233a, 349a, and 351a). The binding is not original to the manuscript. For full description, see http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W608/description.html

The primary language in this manuscript is Persian. The secondary language of this manuscript is Arabic.

Thirty illustrations; titlepieces (fols. 2b, 31b, 109b, 162b, 225b, and 307b); framing lines in blue, black, and gold

fol. 2b Illuminated incipit with titlepiece Incipit; titlepiece This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the first poem of the Khamsah, Makhzan al-asrār. It is inscribed in white on a gold ground with polychrome floral decoration.

fol. 31b Illuminated incipit with titlepiece Incipit; titlepiece This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the second poem of the Khamsah, Khusraw va Shīrīn, which is inscribed in white on a gold ground with polychrome floral decoration.

fol. 45b Khusraw watching Shīrīn bathing Illustration

fol. 51b Khusraw and Shīrīn hunting Illustration

fol. 54a Khusraw kills a lion outside Shīrīn's tent Illustration

fol. 69b Farhād brought before the throne of Khusraw Illustration

fol. 72b Farhād carries Shīrīn and her horse Illustration

fol. 81b Khusraw arriving at Shīrīn's palace Illustration

fol. 96a Khusraw is led by an old woman to Shīrīn Illustration

fol. 109b Incipit with illuminated titlepiece Incipit; titlepage This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the third poem of the Khamsah, Laylá va Majnūn. It is inscribed in white on a gold ground with polychrome floral decoration.

fol. 119a Laylá and Qays (Majnūn) at school Illustration

fol. 136b Majnūn’s father visits his son in the wilderness Illustration

fol. 147b Laylá visits Majnūn in the wilderness Illustration

fol. 154b Laylá and Majnūn faint at the sight of each other Illustration

fol. 162b Incipit with illuminated titlepiece Incipit; titlepiece This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the fourth poem of the Khamsah, Haft paykar. It is inscribed in white on a gold ground with polychrome floral decoration.

fol. 173a Bahrām Gūr kills a lion and a wild ass Illustration

fol. 174a Bahrām Gūr kills a dragon Illustration

fol. 174b Bahrām Gūr and portraits of the seven princesses Illustration Bahrām Gūr is depicted with his own portrait and portraits of the seven princesses, inscribed as follows: Azar Sūz, Nasrīn Nūsh, Nāz Parī, Naʿmā Nāz, Fūrak, Daraspī, and Hamāy.

fol. 178b Bahrām Gūr kills two lions to claim his crown Illustration

fol. 181a Bahrām Gūr kills a wild ass before Fitnah Illustration

fol. 182b Fitnah carries a bull on her shoulders in the presence of Bahrām Gūr Illustration

fol. 187b Bahrām Gūr in the black pavilion Illustration

fol. 193b Bahrām Gūr in the yellow pavilion Illustration

fol. 195b Bahrām Gūr in the blue pavilion Illustration

fol. 204b Bahrām Gūr in the green pavilion Illustration

fol. 207b Bahrām Gūr in the red pavilion Illustration

fol. 208a Bahrām Gūr in the sandalwood pavilion Illustration

fol. 208b Dome of the sandalwood pavilion Illustration

fol. 213a Dome of the white pavilion Illustration

fol. 213b Bahrām Gūr in the white pavilion Illustration

fol. 225b Incipit with illuminated titlepiece Incipit; titlepiece This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the Sharafnāmah, the first part of the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Iskandarnāmah. It is inscribed in white on a gold ground with polychrome floral decoration.

fol. 241a Alexander the Great kills an Ethiopian warrior Illustration

fol. 243a The army of Alexander the Great pursues the Ethiopians Illustration

fol. 254a Alexander the Great defeats the army of the Persian king, Darius Illustration

fol. 269a Alexander the Great in Nushābah’s pavilion in Bardaʿ Illustration

fol. 287a Alexander the Great entertained at the court of the king of China Illustration

fol. 298b Alexander the Great lassos a Russian warrior Illustration

fol. 307b Incipit with illuminated titlepiece Incipit; titlepiece This incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the Iqbālnāmah, the second part of the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Iskandarnāmah. It is inscribed in white on a gold ground with polychrome floral decoration.

Mid Rabīʿ II 971 AH / 1563 CE

Ownership note: Bāqī Pāshā (fol. 1a)

Ownership note with seal: ʿAlī Rizā ibn Muṣṭafá, 1180 AH / 1766-7 CE (fol. 2a)

Seal impression: ʿAlī Mawlā ʿAlī (fols. 153a, 177a, 233a, and 351a)

Ownership note: Ṣāḥibī umm [the mother of] Mīrzā Ibrāhīm (fol. 351b)

Seal impression: Shāh Vardī Ghulām Shāh Mardān (fol. 349a)

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Persian

Arabic

paper

image/jpeg

1563

All Walters manuscript images and descriptions provided here are copyrighted © The Walters Art Museum.