مثنوی معنوی

Walters Ms. W.626, Collection of poems (masnavi)

Walters Ms. W.626, Collection of poems (masnavi)

Mas̱navī-i maʿnavī

مثنوى معنوى

Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, Maulana, 1207-1273 (author)

Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Bahāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (author)

جلال الدين محمد بن بهاء الدين محمد رومى (author)

This is an illustrated and illuminated copy of the collection of poems, known as Mas̱navī-i maʿnavī, of Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī (d. 672 AH / 1273 CE). According to the colophon (fol. 314b), the text, written in black nastaʿlīq script, was completed in India in 1073 AH / 1663 CE. Each section of the work is introduced by a double-page illuminated incipit containing a preface in prose, followed by two illustrations and an illuminated incipit page for the masnavi. In total, fifty paintings illustrate the text. The green leather binding is modern. For full description, see http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W626/description.html

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

Fifty Indian-style illustrations; each book introduced by a double-page illuminated incipit with a preface in prose, followed by two illustrations and an illuminated incipit page for the masnavi with a headpiece and decorated border

fol. 1b Double-page illuminated incipit Incipit This is the right side of a double-page illuminated incipit introducing the preface to the first book (daftar) of the Mas̱navī.

fol. 2a Double-page illuminated incipit Incipit This is the left side of a double-page illuminated incipit introducing the preface to the first book (daftar) of the Mas̱navī.

fol. 2b A prince returning from a hunt and a woman in a pavilion Illustration; frontispiece This is the right side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece introducing the first book (daftar) of the Mas̱navī. A prince is shown on horseback with a gesture of surprise as a woman waits in a pavilion.

fol. 3a A court scene with a physician feeling a sick woman's pulse Illustration; frontispiece This is the left side of a double-page illustrated frontispiece introducing the first book (daftar) of the Mas̱navī.

fol. 3b Incipit page with illuminated headpiece Incipit; headpiece This incipit page with illuminated headpiece introduces the first book (daftar) of the Mas̱navī.

fol. 20b A lion and a fox admire their reflection in the water of a well while a rabbit looks on Illustration

fol. 53b A court scene with musicians and dancers Illustration

fol. 54a A battle scene Illustration

fol. 59b A king gives a purse of gold to one of his servants to free a holy man from his debts to money lenders Illustration

fol. 61a A peasant carries a lion Illustration A peasant carries a lion from a compound in the darkness of night. The peasant has mistaken the lion, who had devoured one of his cows, for one of the selfsame cows.

fol. 62a A group of Sufis, having stolen a donkey from another Sufi, celebrate in dance and song Illustration

fol. 64b A man kills his mother, who has committed adultery Illustration

fol. 65b A king and two newly bought slaves Illustration A king tests his two newly bought slaves, one white and the other colored, and sends the colored one to the bathhouse to be cleaned up.

fol. 66b A colored slave, washed and shaved, stands in front of the king Illustration

fol. 69a Owls attack a falcon Illustration Owls attack a falcon who lost its way and landed on the roof of a deserted house.

fol. 79b A bear and a sleeping man Illustration A bear, not being able to shoo the flies attacking his friend while asleep, brings a millstone to crush them, not realizing that he will crush his friend's head, too.

fol. 82b A dog bites a blind beggar Illustration

fol. 83a A drunkard and a policeman Illustration

fol. 94b A mouse, clutching the reins of a camel, at a stream of water Illustration

fol. 100b A court scene with food and music Illustration

fol. 101a Two naked girls in a pool attended by angels Illustration

fol. 101b Incipit page with illuminated headpiece Incipit; headpiece This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece introducing the third book (daftar) of the Mas̱navī.

fol. 103b A mother elephant crushes to death the men who killed her cub and ate its meat Illustration

fol. 108a Majnūn feeds a dog in the vicinity of Laylá’s house Illustration

fol. 110a A boastful jackal Illustration A jackal, having colored his coat in a jar of paint, boasts that he is more beautiful than peacocks.

fol. 111a A jackal in the company of other animals and birds Illustration This illustration depicts a jackal, in the company of other animals and birds, and the portrait of the Pharaoh who thought himself to be God.

fol. 113a Hebrew mothers with their babies in front of the Pharaoh who intends to kill them Illustration

fol. 114a A snake charmer and a sleeping dragon on his way to Baghdad Illustration

fol. 117b Townspeople, who have never seen an elephant, examine its appearance in the dark Illustration

fol. 121b Misbehaving students and their supposedly sick teacher Illustration

fol. 122a The mothers of students visit a sick teacher Illustration

fol. 135a The king of the elephants Illustration The king of the elephants comes to a pool of water, in which is seen the reflection of the moon, to test the story of the leader of a band of hares, that the moon will be angry if the elephants come to drink from the pool.

fol. 136a The owner of a house and a thief Illustration This illustration depicts an exchange between the owner of a house and a thief who makes a hole in the wall to break in, while pretending that he is playing drums.

fol. 156b King Solomon hears the complaint of an ant who was blown off the wall and got wounded Illustration

fol. 160b A court scene with music, dance, and wine Illustration

fol. 161a A scene depicting various activities Illustration This scene depicts various activities involving men, women, and children, such as making bread, fetching water, bringing in hunted animals, and combing a nursing mother’s hair.

fol. 163b A shoemaker and the unfaithful wife of a Sufi surprised by her husband’s unexpected return home Illustration

fol. 170a A woman plays a stringed instrument in the company of tamed animals and birds Illustration

fol. 170b Incipit page with illuminated headpiece Incipit; headpiece This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece introducing the sixth book (daftar) of the Mas̱navī.

fol. 172a A man questions a preacher about the meaning of the direction a rooster faces while on the roof Illustration

fol. 177a Thieves, unhindered by guards, attack a caravan while its occupants sleep Illustration

fol. 213b A hunting scene Illustration

fol. 214a Maidens bathe a princess who inspects herself in a mirror Illustration

fol. 220b A wise man and a peacock plucking out its feathers not to be attractive to people Illustration

fol. 224b An unhappy deer in the company of donkeys Illustration

fol. 230b A maid, who used to sleep with a donkey, pretends to feed the animal Illustration

fol. 239a Iyāz searches for hidden treasure Illustration Iyāz, Sultan Maḥmūd’s confidant, searches for hidden treasure. A man brings out instead his modest fur coat and shoes (here mistakenly shown as a hat).

fol. 242a A woodcutter’s miserable donkey who envies the king’s horses, fed with delicious grain Illustration

fol. 242b Horses return from battle Illustration Badly wounded horses return from battle and make the donkey realize that it should be satisfied with its modest existence.

fol. 245a A sick lion, inspired by a clever fox, hunts a donkey for its brain to cure his disease Illustration

fol. 253b A mosque scene and the question of the length of pubic hair Illustration

fol. 255a The husband of a greedy woman weighs the cat that supposedly ate all the meat that he bought for his guests Illustration

fol. 266b Majnūn in the company of animals in the wilderness Illustration

fol. 267a A young man and an old man Illustration A young man in love with an old man comes to visit him but finds him asleep. He puts some walnuts in his pocket as a sign of his continuous affection.

fol. 289a A mouse and a frog near a pond Illustration

19 Dhū al-Qaʿdah 1073 AH / 1663 CE

Round seal impression: Ibrāhīm [...] (front flyleaf iia)

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Persian

Arabic

paper

image/jpeg

1663

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