PUBLICATIONS
HREVE SIMPSON
Persian Poetry, Painting
Illustrations in a
0" Patronam
Sixteenth/Century Masterpiece
Persian Poetry, Painting
&
Patronage
Persian Poetry, Painting
Illustrations in a
&
Patronage
Sixteenth/Century Masterpiece
MARIANNA SHREVE SIMPSON
III
Freer Gallery of
Smithsonian
Art
Institution,
Yale University Press,
Washington, D.C.
New Haven and London
rresr Ga!f©ry of Art
Copyright
All
© 1998 Smithsonian Institution
rights reserved
Published in 1998 by Yale University Press,
New Haven and London
in association with the Freer Gallery of Art,
Smithsonian
Institution,
Washington, D.C.
Edited by
Ann Hofstra Grogg
Designed by Derek Birdsall RDi
Typeset in Monotype Poliphilus with Blado
Italic
by Omnific Studios
Printed in Italy by Amilcare Pizzi S.p.A.
Library of Congress Cataloging^in^Publication Data
Simpson, Marianna Shreve, 1949^
Persian poetry, painting &: patronage
sixteenth-'century masterpiece
/
:
illustrations in a
Marianna Shreve Simpson,
cm.
p.
Includes bibliographical references
(p.
)
and index.
ISBN 0^300^07483^2 (cloth)
—
i.JamT, I4i4.'i492. Haft awrang
of Art. Manuscript. 46.12
—
Illustrations.
books and manuscripts, Iranian.
manuscripts. Islamic
—
Illustrations. 2. Freer
4.
3.
Illumination of
Illumination of books and
Iran. 5. Illumination of
— Washington (D.C.)
ND3399.J35S56
—
manuscripts
Gallery
I.
books and
Title.
1997
745.6'7'o955
dc2i
97^41288
CIP
The paper used
the
in this publication meets the
American National Standard
for
minimum requirements for
Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, z 3 9.48 984.1.
Cover: The
the
Aziz and Zulaykha Enter the Capital of E^ypt and
Come Out to Greet Them (folio loob, detail)
Egyptians
CONTENTS
6
Foreword by Milo Cleveland Beach
7
Preface
9
PART
21
PART 2. ILLUSTRATIONS
20
The Wise Old Man Chides a Foolish Youth
22
A Depraved Man Commits Bestiality and Is Berated by Satan (folio 30a)
24
The Simple Peasant Entreats
26
A Father Advises His Son about Love (folio 52a)
28
Tlic Dervish Picks
30
Bandits Attack the Caravan ofAynie and Ria (folio 64b)
32
The Aziz and Zulaykha Enter the Capital of Egypt and the Egyptians Come Out to Greet Them
34
Yusuf
3
6
I.
Is
PERSIAN POETRY, PAINTING & PATRONAGE: SULTAN IBRAHIM MIRZa's Hajtawrang
SULTAN IBRAHIM MIRZa's Hajt awrang
IN
the
(folio
Salesman Not
i
oa)
Sell His Wonderful
to
Donkey
(folio 38b)
Up His Beloved's Hairfrom the Hammam Floor (folio 59a)
Rescuedfront
the
Well (folio 105a)
Yusuj Tends His Flocks (folio
Zulaykha
1 1
ob)
Maidens in Her Garden (folio
14b)
38
Yusuf Preaches
40
Tlie Infant Witness Testifies to
42
Yusuf Gives
44
The Gnostic Has a
Vision of Angels Carrying Trays of Light to the Poet Sa'^di (folio 147a)
46
The Pir Rejects
Ducks Brought as
48
The Fickle Old Lover Is Knocked
50
The Arab Berates His Guestsfor Attempting to Pay Himjor His
52
The Townsman Robs
54
Solomon and Bilqis Sit Together and Converse Frankly
56
Salaman and Absal Repose on
5 8
The Murid Kisses
60
The Flight of
6z
The East Ajrican Looks at Himself in
64
Qciys First Glimpses Layli (folio 23 la)
66
Majnun Approaches
68
Majnun Comes befne Layli Disguised as a Sheep
70
The Mi'^raj of
72
Khusraw Parviz and Sliirin Deal with
74
Iskandar Suffers a Nosebleed and Is Laid Down
76
Chronology
77
Bibliography
78
Index
a
to
's
Yusuf Innocence (folio 120a)
's
Royal Bampiet hi Honor of His Marriage
the
's
the
the
(folio
1
32a)
Murid (folio 153b)
162a)
Hospitality (folio
Orchard (folio 179b)
Happy
Feet (folio
the Tortoise {folio 21
the
Presents by the
off the Rooftop (folio
the Villager's
the Pir
1
Isle (folio
1
(folio
1
88a)
94b)
207b)
$h)
the
Mirror (folio 221 b)
Camp of Layli's Caravan
(folio 25 3a)
(folio
264a)
Prophet (folio 275a)
the
Fishmonger (folio 29 1 a)
to
Rest (folio 298a)
169b)
(folio
loob)
FOREWORD
Even at the end of this image^rich and media^saturated century,
particularly those
from the Persian world, continue
the general public alike.
Hundreds of
and the ways
both scholar and
for
and ornament,
still
Perhaps not surprisingly,
draw viewers
unique and
into an aesthetic realm
how this visual landscape was constructed
mechanics, conceptual parameters, and visual dynamics worked remain
its
a century of scholarship.
elusive after
Our
which
in
art.
hold a special fascination
years after their creation, these books, with their
sophisticated linkage of word, image,
unlike any in the history of
to
books from Islamic lands,
illustrated
understanding of
moved toward approaches
has in recent years
this tradition
that attempt
broader cultural and aesthetic interpretations of Persian painting and manuscript production.
Stdtan Ibrahim
Mirza Haft awrang: A Primely Manuscriptfroin
Sixteenth'^ Century Iran (Yale
's
and
Press, 1997) reflects both these recent intellectual realignments
and scholarship
Gallery of Art and Arthur
at the Freer
Persian Poetry Painting
&
Patronage: Illustrations
in a
M.
University
the continuing role of research
Sackler Gallery. This publication,
SixteentluCentury Masterpiece,
is
a
condensed
summary of the much larger monograph, and focuses particularly on its outstanding paintings. The
more than
entire project represents
a decade of research
and thought by Dr. Marianna Shreve
Simpson, formerly the Galleries' curator of Islamic Near Eastern
important
new
contribution.
Chief among
art,
and her
these has been her emphasis
efforts represent
an
on Persian manuscript
—
paintings not as single, independent works of art but as parts of a larger collaborative ensemble
the
book. By reexamining from this perspective a particularly rich and pivotal moment in the history and
development of Persian painting under the Safavid dynasty
(i
501-1736), she has produced a
comprehensive, meticulous analysis of both the physical and conceptual
manuscript.
It is
of a single royal
totality
testimony to the complexity of issues inherent in the study of these works as well as
the earher priorities
of the
field that
very few illustrated Islamic manuscripts have been published in
odds with scholarship
their entirety, a state quite at
research begins to help close that gap in
its
skillful
for
European manuscripts. Dr. Simpson's
documentation of the creation of one of the most
important illustrated Persian manuscripts in existence. Acquired by the Freer Gallery of Art in
1946 by
its
then director Archibald Wenley, the Freer Jami
object but as a critical cultural
is
recognized not simply as a beautiful
document.
This study, cast in the form of a vigorous codicological inquiry, has produced
clear picture
of
how the book was conceived,
written, painted, decorated,
brings to these issues a deep knowledge of
for the first
time a
and bound. Dr. Simpson
manuscript production and dissemination in the
Persianate cultural sphere, particularly the structure and function of artistic ateliers (kitabklumas) in
Safavid Iran.
And while important new information has also been gathered on a host of artists and
calligraphers, the author's greatest contribution
is
her careful analysis of the respective, interlinked
roles played by text, painting, and illumination in Islamic visual thought.
ration of avenues such as these that
we
will begin to understand
how
It is
through careful explo^
a culture both
saw
itself
and
how it wished to be seen by others.
Dr. Simpson's research was supported by the Smithsonian Institution's Scholarly Studies
Program and
the National Gallery of Art's Center for
Ibrahim Mirza's Haft awrang
was published with
Advanced Study
in the Visual Arts. Sultan
the assistance of the Getty
Grant Program.
Additional funding was provided by the Freer and Sackler Galleries' Publications
Fund,
initially established
with a grant from the
Andrew W. Mellon
Endowment
Foundation and generous
contributions from private donors. For consukation, guidance, and thoughtful, sustained
Freer Gallery also thanks
of Islamic Near Eastern
Thomas W.
art;
Karen
Lentz, deputy director;
Sagstetter, editor in chief;
University Press; Derek Birdsall, designer; and
Ann
Massumeh Farhad,
associate curator
John Nicoll, managing
Hofstra Grogg, editor.
effort, the
director, Yale
The many
other
contributors to the research and publication are mentioned in the preface to Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's
Haft awrang, the monograph upon which
this
book
is
based.
Milo Cleveland Beach
Director, Freer Gallery of Art and
Smithsonian Institution
6
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
PREFACE
This publication summarizes research undertaken on a major work of art
the Freer Gallery of
A
Art and presented more completely
in the Islamic collection
in Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft awran^:
Princely Manuscript from SixteentluCcntury Iran (Yale University Press, 1997).
graphic study and
this shorter version
of Islamic
was
art. It
Both the mono^
have been inspired and influenced by two esteemed specialists
Gary Welch,
the brilliant connoisseurship of Stuart
Islamic and later Indian art at Harvard University, that initially opened
to the
curator emeritus of
my eyes as a graduate student
dazzling beauty of Persian painting and to the creativity of sixteenth^century court
patrons. His seminal publications
on
artists
investigations into the Haft awrang manuscript
flattery,
the format of this
Royal Safavid Manuscripts oj
I first
turned the
folios
is
and
Persian Painting: Five
Century (Braziller, 1976).
art at the Freer
me
my
princely patron. Imitation being the sincerest
modeled on Gary Welch's ever^invaluable
Gallery of Art,
at the
who
over the years. Esin Atil remains
indebted to her for continual, gentle guidance in
I
its
of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft awrang
former curator of Islamic
experiences possible for
book
the Sixteenth
and
the Safavid period, including the magisterial Houghton
Shahnameh co^authored with Martin B. Dickson, have provided continual stimulus throughout
of
of
has
encouragement of Esin Atil,
made many
my museum
other wonderful
mentor, and
I
am
deeply
how to look at and think about works of Islamic art.
am also grateful to Richard and Loren Kagan for their unconditional interest and support.
Marianna Slircve Simpson
Baltimore,
Maryland
February iggj
Overleaf:
Gold--flecked page (folio
7
1
82a)
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4
PART
I.
PERSIAN POETRY, PAINTING & PATRONAGE:
SULTAN IBRAHIM mirza's Hajt awvang
Poetry and painting have long been allied in the arts and culture of Iran (also
Since
at least the twelfth century,
Persian poets have
woven
Persian painters of the late thirteenth century through early
intended to evoke poetic contents, mood, and meaning.
and
visual arts
was forged through
taste for
and patronage
oi the
twin
calligraphy, decoration, painting,
as Persia).
verses out of pictorial imagery, while
modern times composed
Over the
illustrations
centuries this union of the literary
the intermediary of royal patrons, including the rulers
who commissioned
princes of Iran's leading dynasties,
known
arts of literature
and binding)
deluxe copies of classical poetic
texts.
and
The
(including poetry) and the book (including
resulted in the creation of
some of
the greatest
masterpieces of Persian culture.
The remarkable
results that
could be achieved through the alliance of poetry, painting, and
patronage in Iran are exemplified by a famous illustrated manuscript belonging
of Art and
seven
commonly known
poems
as the Freer
Constellation oj
the
and
called in English the Seven
Great Bear, which were composed by
and mystic. In
Abdul^Rahman
of the Haft awrang.
artists to transcribe,
(i
essential
Jami, a celebrated
—
501— 1732) with
illuminate,
The making and meaning of Sultan Ibrahim
and particularly of its twenty--eight illustrations
ways that painting and poetry formed
Thrones or
the middle of the sixteenth century Sultan
Mirza, a young princely patron of the reigning Safavid dynasty
Jami's poems, engaged a group of gifted
Gallery
Jami (accession number 46.12). The volume contains
collectively entitled the Hajt awrang
fifteenth^century poet, scholar,
to the Freer
and
a
Ibrahim
penchant
illustrate a special
copy
Mirza's splendid commission
constitute a fascinating story that reveals the
complements
for
many
in traditional Persian culture.
T/;e
Aziz
and
Ztilayklici
Enter the Capital oj
E^yptand the Egyptians Come Out
Them
9
(folio
loob, detail)
to
Greet
THE ACCOUNT OF the Freer Jami begins in the 146OS-1480S when
Abdul^Rahman Jami (1414-1492) wrote the seven poems that make up
the Haft awrang. At that time Jami was a prominent author and spiritual
leader in Herat, capital of the theivruling
and
seat
During
of
its
last
and most cultivated
his long reign
many of the literary and
and
wisdom)
The
Timurid dynasty (1370-1506)
Sultan-Husayn Mirza.
ruler
The poems of
among
the most
literature
and
please the
upon
among
these
landmarks and
(i
memorable works of Abdul^Rahman Jami's consider^
monly used
pairs. Persian poets
the masmvi form for narrative (including
romances and bear the names of
their
main
and Ztilaykha, Salamari and Ahsal, and Layli and Majntin.
Silsilat
aUdhahah (Chain of gold),
Stibliat al-ahrar
uncertain.
writings of earlier poets, particularly
the
141-1209),
for the
and
attitudes of the
joined
at a
We do not know,
the seven individual
When,
and
ethical ideas of Sufism, a mystical
Jami grounded
Naqshbandiyya,
age. In 1456
a Sufi order or
Jami
rose to
to
assume the dual position of pir
explore and express certain key ideas of Sufi Islam. In Sufi
(folio
title
piece to Salaiuan and Ahsal
182b)
0
A Father Advises His Son about Love
(folio 52a, detail)
"
.
..
'
iff
Opposite:
Text
folios
(folios
10
and
brotherhood that he had
Naqshbandi order in Herat.
Illuminated
r
branch
his poetry in the beliefs
about 1468, Jami began writing the Hajt aw rang, his principal
concern was
(Rosary of the pious).
Nizami of Ganja
of his masnavis, on the other hand, are based on
specifically,
young
heavily
concept and format of the multipoem Hajt awrang.
(master) and murshid (leader) of the
three
dis-'
book of
Sultan-Husayn Mirza, although the poet obviously sought to
spiritual, philosophical,
characters: Yusiij
Another
is
Timurid monarch by writing four of
of Islam. More
romantic epics) and didactic poetry. Three of the Hajt awrang poems are
allegorical
consist of a series of didactic
Abdul^Rahman Jami began to compose the poetic text at
com^
heroic, historic,
—
epic and didactic genres.
The themes and messages
able oeuvre. All seven are written in a Persian poetic form called mcisnavi,
comprising a sequence of couplets that rhyme in
free)
Khiradnania^i Iskandari (Iskandar's
poems in his honor. Following time^honored tradition, Jami drew
art.
the Hajt awrang rank high
of the
precise genesis of the Hajt awrang
the behest of
of the Timurid period and fostered a
climate in which poets and painters produced works that today remain
landmarks of Persian
—combines
for instance, if
(1470-1506), SultaivHusayn Mirza patronized
artistic elite
Tiihjat al^ahrar (Gift
courses, while the seventh
of Ytisuj and Ziilaykha
98b-99a)
mystical doctrine
God is manifest everywhere and is the sole and
source of beauty, truth,
The
love.
material
absolute
goodness, wisdom, and, most important,
purity,
and phenomenal world
is
but a mere reflection of
God's perfection, and the goal of every adherent of Sufi orders
Naqshbandiyya
to be spiritually
is
reborn in the unity of God.
mystic struggles constantly to transcend daily
ical
embracing love
of
God.
Jami's
The
own commitment
Sufi
phys-'
selfless, all'
to the Sufi ideal
of
Khiradnai)ia-'i Iskandari
trativc tales instead
illustrative
programs
Salaman and
to
include paintings of the secondary lUus'
of scenes of the primary narrative episodes.
For most works of classical Persian poetry there was a considerable
like the
human sensations and
experiences and to achieve a state of true being through the
message of the discourses. Even the
Ahsal and
hiatus between the time of their literary creation
painted illustration.
and
the time of their
The earliest known illustrated volume of the Khamsa
(Quintet) of Nizami Ganjavi, for example, dates several hundred years
after
its
composition.
The
Haft awran£, on the other hand, seems to have
Abdul^Rahman
divine perfection and spiritual perfectibility resonates throughout the Haft
been illustrated during
awrang and helps unify the seven separate masnavis.
copy of the YhshJ and Ziilaykha poem dated July 1488 and containing two
Like that of other Sufi writers, Jami's language
images and mystical symbols that are open
Jami evidently recognized
tion.
particular
Thus
poems and framed
Although
their presence
andAhsal and
devices for those
who would
masnavis.
Siihliat
of the
to
ethical
illustrative parables.
which they
are
are also
and
characters
relate
themati'
most apparent in the three
prominent within Salamaii
for artists
The pictorial cycles of
who had
to illustrate the poet's
SilsHat al-dhaliah, Tiihfat al^ahrar,
aUabrar, for instance, consist exclusively of representations
stories that
help structure the
spaces reserved for paintings: one contains a preliminary sketch represent^
ing Yusuf and Zulaykha in Zulaykha's palace.' Curiously
perhaps not coincidentally
poetic manuscript, the
Timurid
ruler
poems and
reinforce the
moraHzing
—
Biistaii
this date
—
although
accords precisely with that of a
(Orchard) of
Sultan^Husayn Mirza and
positions by Bihzad, a
Sa'^di,
made
illustrated
in
Herat
for the
with beautiful com^
famous painter of the period.
One
of Bihzad's
paintings depicts Zulaykha attempting to seduce Yusuf in her palace
the very scene planned for the YhsuJ and Zulaykha manuscript of 1488.'
While Bihzad was
century poet, he
tion
ostensibly illustrating a text by SaMi, a thirteenth--
may
and rendition of
Zulaykha
these anecdotal interludes as instructive
read the Haft awratig. Yet they subsequently
proved to be equally important
and
might
Khiradnaina-'i Iskaiidari.
Jami undoubtedly conceived
complex
interpreta--
Siihhat aUahrar,
human and animal
and purpose
and parables
and
stories
and bracket one or more longer discourses
didactic masnavis, stories
and
his discussion of philosophical
Usually succinct, these passages feature
cally.
wide range of
to a
he emphasized the didactic points of these
with a sequence of anecdotal
issues
rich in metaphorical
that his discussions of abstract ideals,
particularly in Silsilat al^dhahah, Tuhjat aUahrar,
not be easy to follow.
is
Jami's lifetime, as attested by a
tale
have been more immediately inspired in his concept
the scene by the mystical version of the
written by his contemporary Jami. Similarly, the presence
of Bihzad and other talented
composing
Yusuf and
artists in
Herat during the time Jami was
his masnavis doubtless led the poet to appreciate the value
of
paintings in conveying the messages of his Haft awrang. Certainly the court
of
Sultan^Husayn Mirza provided the
ing to combine in the
right setting for poetry
initial illustration of a
Jami's Hajtawrang.
II
new
and
literary "classic"
paints
such
as
IT
HAS BEEN
and fame began
said that Jami's popularity
to
wane after
Naqshbandiyya, took control of Iran
for the
ruler.
Shah
Isma'il
planned
that he
The
in 1501.
first
Safavid
much
(reigned 1501-24), supposedly hated Jami so
i
to destroy the poet's
tomb
in Herat.
Notwithstanding
with
coincided
Khanim,
arrangements
the eldest daughter of
ship, this marriage
least
Tahmasp
superior intelligence, beauty,
volumes of the Haft awrang were produced with
great regularity throughout the Safavid period,
manuscripts
—
including compilations of
all
—
are
multiple poems, and individual
poems
manuscript commissioned by Shah
—who was
toward Jami—
program.
—
Mirza
by
at least
two hundred
now known. Of
his grandfather's negative attitude
contains by far the most ambitious and innovative pictorial
Indeed in all its artistic features
Jami
the Freer
illustration
the Hajt awrangtViAi has
As
(i
of
prince
a
540-1 577) came
arts,
and
calligraphy, illumination,
Safavid
the
and
particularly poetry
Bahram Mirza
and
spiritual
secular subjects
Ibrahim Mirza was raised
historian
recitation of the
Qazi Ahmad,
to
at
and admirer of the prince. Sultan Ibrahim Mirza also excelled in
composed
and nuances
Under
the pen--name Jahi, Sultan Ibrahim Mirza
and Turkish;
verses in Persian
at least
of his Divan (Poems) survive today.^ Qazi
for his
two posthumous copies
Ahmad
also extols the prince
"golden hands in painting in decorating" and
for his
"bookbinding, gilding, gold^sprinkling, the making of
mixing of
phy,
Koran
The
colors."'
mastery of
stencils
and
the
prince's real forte seems to have been in calligra^
Ahmad praises him for the ability to write in both large and
and Qazi
fine scripts."
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza would have received encouragement for all these
artistic pursuits
est in his
from Shah Tahmasp,
who apparently took a special inters
young nephew's education. Furthermore, during
years in Tabriz,
royal court.
During
—
and sponsored
the arts
house," but actually signifying both
calligraphers,
specialists created
artistic
Tahmasp 's
at
"book
and
where
studio
kitahkhana
library)
texts.
was the Khamsa of Nizami, transcribed by
Shah Tahmasp appointed Sultan Ibrahim Mirza, then
Imam
Reza,
province of Khurasan. According to Qazi
Ibrahim Mirza with
selected
Among the
when Sultan Ibrahim
Shah^Mahmud al^Nishapuri and embellished with
of the venerable shrine of the
mark of
five
and other
binders,
by a half-dozen or so briUiant painters.^
In 1554-55
about
at the
Shah Tahmasp
sixteen years of age, to be governor of the important city of
in a final
—and
employed
a kitahkhana (literally,
illuminators,
painters,
his uncle's court
the great calligrapher
illustrations
artists
deluxe volumes of classical Persian
splendid works in process
Mirza came to
many
the
the early decades of his long reign.
was an avid patron of
numerous
his formative
Ibrahim Mirza would have come in contact with
possibly even taken instruction from
th[is] position
his regard
hundred
one by one
handpicked entourage seem
arriving there
the prince a retinue of
and noblemen
"whom he had
The
prince and his
esteem and dignity."^
to
site
Ahmad, "The shah honored
and expectations, gave
for their
Mashhad,
in the northeastern Iranian
among the people of knowledge" and,
courtiers, bodyguards,
have
made a leisurely journey
on i9March 1556.
12
precise date of the
Mashhad with
festivities lasting
known
work of patroiv
today as the Freer Jami
While contemporary
—was
sources offer no hint of a
two
1
con"
compositions illustrating marital and amorous themes.
illustrations in the Yusuj and Ziilaykha
(folio
his Haft awrang
the Capital of
00b) and
—
Egypt and
Yiisif Gives a
poem
the Egyptians
The Aziz
Come Out
to
to
Of
and
Greet
Royal Banquet in Honor of His Marriage
suggest the most obvious parallels to events, including
(folio
132a)
arrival
ceremonies and wedding
Ibrahim Mirza's marriage
to
festivities,
recorded
at the
time of Sultan
Gawhar/Sultan Khanim. (These and
all
paintings in the Freer Jami are illustrated and discussed in Part 2, arranged
by
folio
bility
number.) Indeed, Sultan Ibrahim Mirza may have had the possi/
of marriage to Gawhar^Sultan
pictorial
program of
Khanim in mind while planning the
his magnificent Haft awrang.
a contemporary
"poetical criticism, the solution of fine points of versification
of Sufism and love."'
tains several
of his
and
The
seems to have been preceded by
Mashhad and marriage to Gawhar^Sultan Khanim,
member
as a calligrapher
in
or at
connection between the prince's commission and his appointment
Them
the second Safavid ruler (reigned
from the reading and
musical composition. According
the Haft awrang manuscript
already well under way.
in the
1524-76), in Tabriz. There the prince was trained in a wide range of
to
—
and celebrated
it
was arranged,
nephew's bride because of her
wisdom.'''
determine, but
the governor/
Safavid historian reports that
time Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's most important
and involvement
collecting of art. Following the death
in 1549, Sultan
age
this
Zulaykha Enter
painting. Virtually every
Shah Tahmasp,
By
as his
and
less
months during the spring and summer of 1 560.
Mirza
was accomplished
poet and active in the patronage and
several
these,
Ibrahim
Sultan
dynasty.
quite naturally by his interest
the court of his uncle
and
come down to us today.
family (both male and female)
of his father
—
without a doubt the most beautiful copy of
is
difficult to
is
a lengthy betrothal
these the
grandson. Sultan Ibrahim
Isma^^il's
clearly undeterred
and
seven poems, selections of
marriage
Gawhar/Sultan
his cousin
One
or
Gawhar^Sultan
to
Shah Tahmasp. As with
between the prince and
continued and became well established in Iran by the early part of the six^
selected
marriage
his
for
agreed upon, by the shah himself
the shah's reported censure, the practice of illustrating Jami's masnavis
teenth century. Illustrated
Mashhad more
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's appointment to
his
death in 1492 and especially after the Safavids, a dynasty with no tolerance
to
Mashhad,
Illuminated
signed by
title
piece to Yusuj and Zulaykha,
Abdullah aUShirazi
(folio
84b)
WHATEVER THE prince's
volume of
tracted,
motivations, his commission of an illustrated
the Haft awrang turned out to be an extremely ambitious, pro^
and even
far-flung undertaking.
scribal notations at the
copying of the
As recorded in the colophons, or
end of each of the masmvis, the transcription or
text alone took nine years
involved the participation of no
three different Iranian cities (see
less
than
—from
five
1556 to 1565
calligraphers
—and
working
in
Chronology). Furthermore, the sequence
ot
the masmvis in the
volume does not follow
of
their transcription.
The
the chronological order
format of the manuscript's 304
folios
is
also
complicated, with the written surface composed of one piece of cream
paper and the margins of another piece of colored paper.
Thus we may
surmise from the codicology or material structure of the manuscript that
its
production was a complex process, requiring careful planning and
coordination.
(folios
order of the kitahkhaiia of
document
AbuM^Fath
38b and 162a), and the historian Qazi
his uncle
Shah Tahmasp,
numerous
the Freer
artists
head of the
kitahkhaiia
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza"
Ahmad
confirms that, like
as
governor
as well as the
was
ot
Mashhad.'" From two of
primary sources we
know that the
named Muhibb^Ali, who
a calligrapher
undoubtedly helped Sultan Ibrahim Mirza develop the material and
artistic
program
Muhibb^Ali
that Sultan
entire
also
for the
Haft awrang.
would have been
As
kitahdar,
or kitahkhaiia chief,
responsible for the preparation of
the necessary materials, including the
two
sets
of paper used
Colophon of
Silsilat al-dhahab,
Malik al^Daylami
(folio
all
for the folios.
Jami
the seven
the kitahkhaiia
staff. It is
Ibrahim Mirza originally intended Muhibb^Ali
text, as
to
and
possible
copy the
suggested by the calligrapher's transcription of two of
poems of
may
the Haft awraiig. Either the prince or his kitahdar
have decided early on to expand the calligraphic ranks of the
take advantage of the opportunity to engage
kitahkhaiia
Shah-'Mahmud
al^
Nishapuri, the celebrated (and by 1556 quite elderly) scribe of Shah
Tahmasp's
Khaiiisa,
who had moved from
several years before Sultan
there.
Muhibb'Ali
Ishrati
Jami
—
text
—
Rustam--Ali, Malik
as well as the illuminator
al'
Abdullah
who signed his name in the elaborate title piece or illumination
head of the
Yiisiif
and Zuhiykha poem.
Abdullah would have been but one of
worked on
Mashhad
eventually enlisted three other calligraphers to tran/
Daylami, and Ayshi ibn
al'Shirazi,
the Safavid court to
Ibrahim Mirza assumed the governorship
scribe certain parts of the Freer
volume was
the Safavid prince supported a kitahkhaiia with
during his time
Jami colophons
that the
and supervision of
for the selection
at the
Several inscriptions in the Freer Jami
made "by
and
the Haft awraiig project
scores of illuminators
who
under Muhibb-- All's supervision. In
addition to masiiavi headings and colophons, the Freer Jami boasts a
decoration, including multicolored rubrics or chapter
dazzling array
of
headings, gold
column
These illuminated
script
tity
dividers,
and contribute
on
significantly to
its
that these artists
stenciled margins.
virtually every folio of the
overall aesthetic.
of the illumination as well as subtle variations
us both that the decorative
and
and gold'painted and
features appear
of
program involved many
The sheer
manu'
quan--
design and form
tell
difTerent illuminators
undoubtedly worked in teams responsible
for
different sections of the manuscript.
signed by
46a)
Text
13
folio
of Suhhat al^ahrar
(folio
179a)
The
distinct
and illumination of
transcription
—and
probably overlapping
—
phases in the creation of Sultan
Ibrahim Mirza's Haftawrang. The illustration represented
and
clearly involved a large
tion
is
signed (folio I20a),
two
the text constituted
yet a third
number of painters. Although one
phase
composi--
modern scholarship has yet to reach a consensus
Yet for every
offers
set
compositional unit and fixed figure type, the Freer Jami
something unexpected, typically
way of conveying a familiar
a fresh
visual theme. For instance the bathhouse or hanimam of
Up
His Beloved's Hair from
the
Hammam
The Dervish Picks
Floor (folio 59a)
multichambered structure and presented in
conceived
is
sectional elevation. Bathers
doorways and move through
on the attribution of the full set of paintings and the identity of their artists.
and bath attendants
The originality and quality of
passageways, thus emphasizing the unified architectural space.
the illustrations correspond, however, to the
highest standards of Safavid period painting, and
like the calligraphers,
had previously worked,
The
we may assume
some and perhaps even all of the Freer Jami
that,
painters
or at least been trained, at the Safavid court.
waiting horse and
groom
is
(folio
1
its
sense
device employed to similar advan^
King Solomon and
The many outdoor
88a).
The
enhanced by the projecting facade and
further
at the left, a
tage in the illustration featuring
twenty^eight compositions in the Freer Jami belong to the so^
emerged
enter the building's
of interior versus exterior
as a
scenes,
where
the
queen of Sheba
palaces, pavilions,
and
in the second
other habitats such as tents are often situated in lush settings, also provide
half of the fourteenth century, matured throughout the fifteenth, and
extended space and perspectival schemes. By juxtaposing open plain,
called classical tradition of Persian painting that
produced some of
Timurid and
of
most memorable achievements during the
its
early Safavid periods.
The
principal
include large-scale compositions that frequently overflow
this tradition
into the surrounding margins; a bright
and extensive
(and often precious) pigments polished
palette
high sheen;
to a
scape settings; elegant, idealized figures in gorgeous
fluid,
attire;
ornamental patterns used on
intricate
costumes, carpets,
rhythmic
and canopies) and buildings
tents,
diverse flora
textiles
(including
(especially brick,
and woodwork). Full of exciting pictorial contrasts,
tile,
of jewel-'like
modeling of forms; expansive architectural and land^
lines; deliberate
and fauna; and
late
stylistic characteristics
the classical style
craggy
hills,
and
intricate facades
Yiisuf and Zulaykha
belong
to the aziz (minister)
Zulaykha and her
and
rooftops, the
of Egypt and the imminent progression of
feature of the Freer
Jami compositions
multiple focuses. These not only provide the
much
encourage
illustration in the
bridal party into the Egyptian capital (folio loob).
Another pervasive
also
first
poem conveys the expanse and richness of the domains
visual
quent diversion from the principal scene.
It is
instance, the negotiations between the peasant
Simple Peasant Entreats
the
field for diverse
"wandering" through
Salesman Not
to
the pictures
easy at
first
action but
to overlook, for
and the donkey seller in The
Sell His Wonderjul
Donkey
38b) while listening in on the baker and
even the mystical) with the everyday, mixes rigorous control and decorum
the bazaar or cantering along in front with the dappled horse
with the earthy and ribald, and matches a calculated sense of space with
elegant rider.
illogical proportions.
ture
IS Its
from the
sixteenth centuries positively throb
with
Approaches
life.
stylistic
pictorial elements
new and innovative. While certain formal features may
creativity
of individual
others pervade the entire
artists,
manuscript and are found in paintings unlikely
to
be by the same
hand. Thus we may regard the twenty--eight compositions
approach toward painting peculiar
the tastes
to this
artistic
as reflecting
compositions
all
occupy the full space of the manuscript's written
figures.
As in
most
illustrations reflect certain typologies
and formulas.
cate, or at least closely follow, well-established
A
Jami
few scenes
Jami
repli-'
compositional models.
The
most obvious instance is The Mi'^rajof the Prophet (folio 275a), in which the
Muhammad
Prophet
celestial
The
on
his
human^headed
Buraq through
steed
a
firmament populated by a host of angels with Gabriel in the lead.
Flight of the Tortoise (folio 215 b) also belongs to a specific composi/-
tional
scheme
that can be traced
tional elements are
Attack
the
the
derived from a
In addition,
from the
more
back several
centuries.
generic, such as the battle
Caravan of Aynie and Ria
The Pir Rejects
IS
rides
(folio
Other composi^
dominating Bandits
64b) and the core figure group in
Ducks Brought as Presents by
the
Murid (folio 153 b), which
common topos or formula for a prince visiting a hermit.
many
specific
figural repertoire
of
familiar individuals are the
personages in the Freer Jami emerge
classical Persian painting.
Among the most
washerwoman and milkmaid
(folios 30a
231a), the languid youth (folios 52a, 105a, and r47a), the
(folios
nob
and 253a), the second^story observers or
(folios I20a, 162a,
1
88a, 207b,
and 291a), the gardener with
petitioner (folio i88a),
and
a
spade
(folios
thegrief^stricken
and
woodsman
hilltop onlookers
and 291a), the eager attendants
(folios 132a
52a and 207b), the aged
mourners
14
spatially
figure of
(folio 298a).
and
is
cul--de^sacs, past curious,
ambiguous and improbable
so inexorably led along
even bizarre, exchanges
situations that the pathetic
Majnun at the left side can be missed altogether.
Beyond such imaginative and
surface,
classical Persian painting, the Freer
tendency, found throughout the Freer
pelling characteristic of the Freer
and most are considerably larger. In addition, most take advantage of then-
and
switchbacks and into
and
artistic
overload the compositions. Here the eye
to
to
generous picture planes, often with extremely complex arrangements of
settings
of Layli's Caravan (folio 253a) presents the most
extreme example of the
Jami,
human
the exception of the initial painting (folio loa), the Freer
Camp
the
an
manuscript and subscribing
and expectations of its patron Sultan Ibrahim Mirza.
With
its
enjoying the acrobats, musicians, and children encamped above. Majnun
most pervasive and palpable
The illustrations in the Freer Jami partake directly of this vital
result
and
man mounting the camel in
A Depraved Man Commits Bestiality and Is Berated by Satan (folio 30a) while
style's
mode. Furthermore they regularly combine famiHar
with those that are
(folio
at the side of
fea^
and
ings of the late fifteenth
customer
and many of the most remarkable Persian paints
Perhaps the
sense of energy,
his elderly
equally possible to miss the
their
and conse--
of Persian painting deftly juxtaposes the ideal and fantastic (sometimes
It is
is
distracting schemes, the
Jami paintings
interest, sustained through the activities
diversity of the principal
and secondary
Freer Jami compositions present a
is
their
most com^
high
level
of
and emotions, the number
figures.
As an aggregate, the
wide range of human experience, from
sexual intercourse (folio 30a), to imminent death (folio 298a), passing by
way of
tions;
spiritual apotheosis, revelation,
and
prayer;
commercial transact
domestic chores (preparing food, washing clothes, spinning and
sewing, gathering firewood); animal husbandry (milking cows, watering
and feeding horses and camels);
and entertainment and leisure
tered are expressions of love
fear, incredulity,
Them
(folio
and devotion, anger, amazement,
the Freer
the Capital of
Jami
Egypt and
is
in the
self-doubt,
equally diverse. The
the Egyptians
Aziz
Come Out
to
and
Greet
lOob), for instance, contains more than one hundred figures,
plus several "hidden" rock^face creatures,
ways
and reading);
and censure.
The population of
Zulaykha Enter
intellectual interests (chess
(music and games). Also regularly encoun^
who take part in many different
meeting between Zulaykha and the aziz of Egypt. Most
figures in the illustrations are extraneous to the central scene, such as the
embroidering
woman who
seems
totally oblivious to the
taking place over her head in The Flight of
Sometimes
amazing scene
Tortoise (folio
215b).
the figures are not so easy to identify or explain, such as the
blind beggar and his young
(folio
the
64b). There
is,
companion
in fact, a certain,
in the
middle of
a battle scene
apparendy deliberate,
human ambiguity and mystery in many of these compositions.
level
of
The
cast
of supplemental characters in the Freer Jami includes a
plethora of children, including several babes in arms.
tion to the YiisiiJ and Zulaykha
who
infant
miraculously
(folio i2oa).
poem
Only one
illustra^
requires the presence of a child, the
the innocence of the prophet
testifies to
Yusuf
Here, however, the infant^witness resembles a small adult,
tall,
Throughout the Freer Jami
leafy trees.
mates and provides a
sometimes simply an
home
significant compositional
and dramatic
to flocks
attractive
the chinaror plane tree
of birds and their
nests.
landscape element, most plane
roles are played
by the
engaged in playing, shopping, and general merriment
Layli Disguised as a Sheep (folio 264a)
52a).
Sometimes
their activities are
more
serious,
the blind beggar in Bandits Attack the Caravan oj
or less certain, such as the
female
at the left side
(folio 253a).
Many
boy leading
(folio
64b),
of Majniiii Approailies
the
Camp
of Layli's Carai'an
family groupings include mothers suckling and cud--
as well as
(folios 38b, 52a,
as the
young girl who may be trying to restrain an older
dling babies and tending young children
and 231a)
such
Aynieand Ria
two
(folios 30a,
nob, 169b,
i88a,
or three clearly identifiable or probable fathers
179b, and 231a) and possibly even a grandmother (folio
38b). Nurturing and caretaking are also implicit in Tlie Wise Old
Chides
(folio
a Foolish
and
Youth (folio loa)
nob), where
a
Man
explicit in Yusuf Tends His Flocks
dappled marc nurses her
foal virtually
alongside a
human mother hugging her child.
its
special style.
As
Other
trees
mischief^making
nob, and
is
laid
down
in all Safavid painting, the
Jami
outdoor
scenes, here constituting threC'-quarters of the illustrations, include
many
the massive
Comes
before
stumps that burst
in the final illustration (folio 298a).
provide essential vantage points (folio loob), encourage
domestic
(folio 52a), shelter
activities (folios 30a, 105a,
231a), and anchor the scene (folios 38b and 64b).
Also noteworthy are the inscriptions incorporated
into the architecture
of nine paintings. Although hardly unprecedented, they seem to be more
specific here
than in other Safavid manuscripts. Several are documentary
epigraphs in prose referring to Sultan Ibrahim Mirza and Shah
(folios 38b, 132a,
147a),
and 162a).
and another quotes
Nizami
(folio
1
88a).
Tahmasp
One inscription comes from the Koran
a verse
but the verses are not derived
identifiable
That they may have been composed
work of Persian
especially for the Freer
literature.
Jami
gested by the close relation between the content of the verses
subject of the paintings.
The
15
(folio
by the twelfth^century Persian poet
The rest are also poetic,
from the Haft awrang or any other
Particular landscape features also regularly appear in the Freer
and form part of
into flames as Iskandar
and
active
with the twisted trunk and
tree
whirligig leaves that shelters Layli and her flock in Majniin
and
Although
trees serve a
and iconographic function. The most
whereas the other Freer Jami children are convincingly portrayed and
(folios 30a, 38b,
predom^
verse written
on the back wall of
is
sug'
and
the
A Father
Advises His Son about Love (folio 52a), for instance, concerns a lover's
illustrative variety
heartache, while the poetic lines on the cornice of the building in The
relationship of
Gnostic
Has a
Vision of Angels Carrying Trays of Light
to the
Poet S/di (folio
147a) address a paradisiacal theme. Perhaps even more direct and
referential are the verses
worked
and Ziilaykha illustrations,
into the architecture in three of the Yiisiif
which
refer
metaphorically either to the builds
ings or to the masnavi's protagonists (folios loob,
From
self^
1
14b,
and 120a).
Jami
illustrations,
we may
dom
work. With two exceptions, the compositions are diverse
in their
painters enjoyed considerable free^
and decoration. The two exceptions
layout, format,
Chides
its
Youth (tolio loa),
a Foolish
uscript as well as the
first
which
is
the
first
in the Silsilat aUdhahah
are
in
The Wise Old Man
illustration in the
man"
poem, and The
Mtirid
Kisses the Pir's Feet (folio 207b), the initial painting in Tiihfat aUahrar.
These poems
script
are
among
the
first
to
have been transcribed for the
and could have been ready for illustration
text. It IS intriguing to
modest in
size
manu^
in character
process of the manuscript's illustration
ally
—were
as
lacking the
and
text illustrations
on tangible forms
of scenes, the
H<j/frtH'n7H^ illustrators
that
human
the mystical
and
Jami used both
al-
from among the many anecdotes and parables
to link
and
frame the poems' primary discourses.
to
rate a
many
couple of masnavi verses or smaller ones enframed by
of poetry, they always related the subjects of
principal action
Within
and
their scenes,
manuscript and more
scenes that
its
with reference
volume
is
far
may have been seen as the antithesis of the desired pictorial standard. Thus
nine compositions (including one
masnavi), the Freer
remarkable scenes.
awrang
known
today.
moment
is
a typical
copy of the
and unique
and
are all easily
to their nearest verses. In other respects,
more ambitious. With
Jami
Jami
familiar
depict concrete episodes in the poetic text
all
including the
specifically a representative
program includes both
illustrative
is
More
the
lines
directly to the nearest verses.
these traditions of Persian painting, the Freer
Haft awrang;
the precise
and
actors, clearly
they inspired, by negative example, the creation of the twenty^six other
Jami were paints
focused on the
and
Whether creating large compositions that occupy a full page and incorpo^
ever, the
Freer
as faithful
aUdhahah, Tiihjat ahahrar, and Siibhat
Silsilat
ahrar, artists selected scenes
words, these small and beautiful, but not particularly exciting, paintings
who illustrated the
were evidently conceived
tended
rather than abstract ideas. In both their choice
ous narratives, such as
identifiable
seen, the artists
literature
moralizing themes that permeate his poetry. For masnavis without continue
verve and creativity envisioned for the manuscript as a whole. In other
As we have
norm. Second, the
works of Persian
and reactions through which Jami conveyed
illustrated
executed early in the
and were judged
literal,
their treatment
before other sections of the
consider the possibility that these two paintings
and unassuming
be very
variation are the
art to
visual manifestations of literary expression, with artistic emphasis gener^
actions
the variations in the appearance of the twenty^eight Freer
surmise that
to
and iconographic
works of Persian
now
its
how^
original series of twenty^
missing from the Layliand Majnun
most heavily
significantly,
illustrated
while
copy of the Haft
all its illustrations relate to
narrated in the incorporated verses, very few are
restricted to the literal representation
and
include additional, covert features not derived from the Haft awrang text
sixteenth century. Similarly their approach to the illustration of the
Haft awrang poems subscribed to several long-standing principles and
practices in the history of Persian painting. First, artists in Iran never
to
seem
have been concerned with the formation of fixed pictorial programs.
Thus, while certain scenes recur regularly
niasnavis, there
is
no standard
awrang illustrations
the Shahnama
cycle
—
in illustrated copies
or even series of cycles
any more than there seems
(Book of kings) of Firdawsi
to
have
or the Khanisa of
of Jami's
—
of Haft
been
for
Nizami. In
short, within the recorded corpus of illustrated Haft awrang manuscripts,
that simultaneously
variety of
expand and
parallel the
mystical messages of Jami's poems. In
as Presents by the Miirid (folio
brings a brace of ducks as a
this
a
majority
reinforce the literal or overt imagery in a
ways and respond to and
ments can be inferred from the
of Jami's text alone.
The
ing within the well-established, so-called classic style of the late fifteenth
metaphorical language and
some cases,
text, as in
these extrapictorial ele^
The Pir Rejects
the
Ducks Brought
153b), in which a royal disciple, or murid,
gift to a
holy man.
The principal
characters in
anecdote to the Subhatal^abrar discourse on abstinence form the core for
number of
other individuals
—
identifiable as
members of
the mnrid's
A Depraved Man Commits Bestiality and Is
Berated by Satan (folio 30a, detail)
16
retinue
—whose
presence
is
not required by Jami's
iconographic sense in terms of the disciple's
poem
but
who do make
Furthermore the
status.
grooms, falconers, and other retainers disposed within the composition's
man so attached to attributes of worldly
has much to learn before he can achieve
activity at the
253a)
Majniin Approaches the
Camp
of Layli's Caravan (folio
completely dominated by covert features to the extent that the
is
viewer
left.
apt to spend far
is
more time
trying to decode the significance
upper center than
rocky landscape emphasize that a
of such figures
power and material possessions
contemplating Majnun's emotion as he comes upon the caravan encamp^
abstinence,
much
less
signaled at practically the very start of the Freer
hah illustration
(folio 30a).
A
Here
Depraved
the
literal,
text.
Jami
Man Commits
Bestiality
overt imagery
is
This tendency
is
in the Sihilat al^dhci^
and
Is
Berated by Satan
confined to a small quadrant
of the composition, while the rest of the scene is given over to what is prob^
ably a gypsy
camp
—
such
encampment. Some of
as the
tent entrance, the
wool
—were
woman washing
the activities
clothes, the
and denizens of
mother and child
man
herder guarding his flocks, and the
probably intended to contrast, by
their very
bats
—
this
at the
spinning
normality and
domesticity, with the unnatural behavior taking place in the lower
Other covert elements
left.
including the boys playing hobbyhorse, the acro'
and musicians, and the figures
sodomite's sexual deviancy.
And
subject of the Sih ilat narrative
in various stages
if
—and
of undress
—echo
the
by chance anyone were to miss the
Jami's message that those
who do not
uphold the pillars of gnostic devotion are even more reprehensible than the
devil
—
form of
the artist of this painting has included another covert motif in the
a gesturing
Sometimes
are those illustrations that contain elements tliat
could not be anticipated or even imagined from the
man who directs the attention of both
the viewer toward the core (or perhaps in this case
it
to
ment of his beloved.
ever hope to attain salvation.
Even more intriguing
as the fainting or sleeping girl in the
the spinner
and
might be "hardcore")
visual contrast
do not figure
The
and complement of singular
in the masnavi text,
sleeping servant in
instance,
scene
the covert imagery reinforces the Hajt awrang text by the
—
is
to
oblivious
what
is
—
Yiisiij
details.
Again,
these motifs
nor can they necessarily be inferred from
Is
Rescued from
as are all the other
the
many
it.
Well (folio 105a), for
figures in this caravan
going on in the lower right where Yusuf
freed
is
by the
angel Gabriel. Similarly the act of greed and desecration that constitutes
the overt imagery in The
is
Townsman Robs
the Villager's
Orchard
(folio
179b)
bracketed and contrasted by a pair of covert groups: the peaceful gather^
ing of four youths in the garden above and the charitable
gift at the
door^
way below.
The poetic inscriptions that are worked into the architectural setting of
a half-dozen Freer Jami illustrations constitute another, equally significant
type of covert imagery. In
some cases these inscriptions respond to physical
conditions or attributes explicit in the Haft awrang text, as in The
Ziilaykha Enter the Capital of Egypt and the Egyptians
Them
(folio
loob), where the verse over the entrance to the city
features of a beautiful
young woman,
as
if
characterization of Zulaykha. Similarly in
17
Aziz and
Come Out
to
Greet
refers to the
deliberately repeating Jami's
Yiisiif
Preaches
to
Ziilaykha's
Maidens
in
the setting
Her Garden
(folio
—which
both
is
1
14b) the inscription combines references to
and
terrestrial
celestial
— and
to the
message
relatively
new
literary classic
by a mystical author whose ideas and
beliefs
were suspect within certain quarters of the Safavid dynasty. Thus, while
about God's mysterious purpose that Yusuf has been teaching Zulaykha's
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza clearly wanted to emulate and honor older
maidens.
members of his family, he also sought to challenge, rival, and perhaps even
The love poem
Son about Love
being written on the back wall of
(folio 52a) constitutes a
image^ext continuum. Indeed,
figures
—
and son
the father
—
in
A Father Adi'ises His
more complex example of
are not so immediately apparent, the covert
features concentrated
toward the back of the scene, including the
board and
and
its
players
the tortured poet
his beloved, play a critical role in
and
Some of
the painted "portrait" of
conveying Jami's message about the
and
the at once densest
imagery occurs in the
subtlest blending of overt
Silsilat al-dhahah
poem, which,
Silsilat that
Sultan Ibrahim JMirza
and where
at least
is first
one motivation
for his great
of the manuscript's history appears in the
al^dhahah, or
Chain of Gold
transmission that
is
port a kitahkhana, to
classic
—
and covert
as the first masnavi in
It is
also in
identified as the volume's patron
commission
doubtless not just a coincidence that the
i;/(7^w<3w
initial
is first
indi^
documentation
whose very title
Silsilat
evokes the dual concept of continuity and
so central to Iranian culture. In undertaking to sup^
employ court artists, and to order a deluxe volume of a
work of Persian
literature.
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza was consciously
continuing the artistic patronage of the Safavid dynasty as practiced by his
grandfather, father,
and
uncles.
Of this
distinguished lineage of Safavid
patrons, the prince paid most conspicuous
uncle and father-in-law, mentor and
monarch
inscription to the shah written above his
Silsilat illustration (folio
through the manuscript
homage
own
—
(folio 162a).
At
the
in
choosing the Haft an>rang by
literary vehicle for a
kitahkhana
(directly
major
artistic
Tahmasp
—
his
by having a laudatory
little
more than halfway
same time Sultan Ibrahim
Mirza deviated from previous family patronage
Tahmasp
to
kitahkhana "tag" in the third
38b) and reiterated a
as
exemplified
Abdul^Rahman Jami
by
as the
commission. Whereas Tahmasp's
carrying on from that of
Isma'il
i)
produced
Firdawsi and Nizami, the
volumes of works by long^venerable poets
like
prince had his kitahkhana create the
illustrated Safavid
first
very different (and
copy of
a
members by daring to commission a
more contemporary) type of literary masterpiece.
The timing of
the prince's
commission
1555^56 Shah Tahmasp promulgated an
equally significant. In
is
edict
banning the
arts that
culminated a long period of personal disengagement from the
other pleasures.
One consequence of the shah's gradual
active artistic patronage
that
is
many
were certainly propitious
where Tahmasp had
emboldened
to set
for
artists
previously employed at
for other patrons.
and
the prince
the kind of kitahkhana
and
arts
withdrawal from
Circumstances
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza to pick up,
left off,
up
of the
work
the royal kitahkhana were free to
the Freer Jami, sets the pictorial tone tor the entire manuscript.
It is
chess--
human love and the complexities of divine love.
vagaries of
cated.
a text^
where the overt
illustration
this
surpass the patronage of other family
as
it
were,
may have been enabled
workshop necessary
production of a deluxe manuscript precisely because of the availability of
leading
It
artists
whose
three court artists—
Tahmasp
to his
al'Nishapuri
by the
fall
services
were no longer required
at his uncle's court.
no accident that during the late summer and fall of
certainly can be
1
5
56
Malik al^Daylami (who had been assigned by
nephew's
—completed
kitahkhana),
Rustam^Ali, and
Shah^Mahmud
key sections of the prince's Haft awrang. Also
of 1556 Sultan Ibrahim Mirza had taken up residence in
Mashhad as governor and doubtless had begun to contemplate the eventu^
ality
of marriage
Khanim. What
to his cousin, the shah's
better
daughter, Gawhar'Sultan
way for the prince to celebrate his "coming of age"
than with the commission of an illustrated manuscript, one whose quality
would complement previous Safavid patronage and whose
both as a work of literature and a work of
independence within that family
The
human
originality,
would proclaim
art,
his
tradition.
notion of coming of age forms part of a broader construct of the
life
cycle or the ages of
Jami expresses key stages in that
spiritual dimensions.
The
man. The
life
cycle,
pictorial
manuscript's illustration
interwoven with pervasive Haft awrang themes
love; the conflict
as the ultimate
between good and
form of
program of
including both
release
—
—
evil, reality
is
its
informed by and
the mystery
and
the Freer
temporal and
and power of
illusion;
and death
that are integral to Jami's poetic
Iskandar Suffers a Nosebleed and
Is
Down to Rest (folio 298a, detail)
18
or
for the
and
Laid
mystical leitmotif of the search for enlightenment
knowledge
the
of the divine.
where
illustration,
first
The
and
fulfillment
through
Notes
i.Osteneichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna
progression toward this goal begins in
about the
a callow youth learns a key lesson
Duda, Die Hlmninierten
(Mixt. 1480), sec Dorothea
Handschrijten der osterreichiidien Natioimlhihliothek:
direction he should pursue
the final
from
a spiritual
guide
(folio loa),
and ends
composition with the impending death of Iskandar,
explorer of the mysteries of
life
and ardent
in
Islamisclie Haiidschriftcn, 1: Persisclw Handschrijten
(Vienna: Verlage der ostcrreichischen
a valiant
Akademie
der Wissenschaften, 1983), 1:21 0—11,2:
seeker of truth (folio 298a).
pis.
30-31.
and
initiation into the path of true belief
Between
God come many
other defining
release to
moments of human
union with
existence.
include the formation and affirmation of essential relationships
one's course through
life (folios
2. General
These
(
Glenn D. Lowry,
critical to
169b and 291a). Maturation through these
(folios
to accept responsibility
and
to distinguish
88a).
1
The
1989), color reproduction
3
(folios
unwillingness to mature, to take decisive action, or to
.Qazi
Ahmad,
weakness and
and 215b). Thus moments
162a, 179b, 194b,
(folios 38b,
failure (folio 30a) are
balanced by those
life
there
torment of passion that begins with physical attraction
and 231a), passes through various
(folios
Qadi Ahmad, Son of Mir Mntishi
and 253a), and ends
of
p.
159;
Qazi Ahmad,
the arts), ed.
trials
and
is
triumph and
the bliss
(folios 59a,
tribulations (folios
either in tragedy or sanctity
—
and
4.
in the Freer
the
young
the
prince's poetic
fir to
equate the
life
history of Sultan
Gulistan Library, Tehran (ms 2183
and
artistic interests,
life
to
personalize
it
—through
—such
the
1978-79), pp.
and surrounding
interpretation of a
his
its
—
seem
3
life,
The
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornel! Lhiiversity Press
and
authorship
made
strategy
for
both
1976), 19-3
which patronage of
princely
as a magnificent
the literary
and
London
(Or. 2265), see Stuart
Persian Painting: Five Royal Sajaind
8.
and
sets a
marker of
visual arts
was
new
The
New York,
Qazi Ahmad, Khulasatahtawarikh (Abstract of
Afushta'i Natanzi, Naijarat al^athar {Selections
of history), ed. Ihsan Ishraqi (Tehran: Bunga-yi
tarjuma^yi nashri kitab, 1950),
10.
Haft
standard in this
a cultural tradition in
a virtual
(
colorplates.
danishgah.-i Tehran, 1980), 2:640-41.
embody his reading
interpretive ends.
3,
history), ed. Ihsan Ishraqi (Tehran: Intisharat^i
or instructed
-and even manipulation
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza both
and stands
Calli^raphers and Painters, p. 155;
Gnlistan^i hiniar, pp. 106-7.
Library,
Cary Welch,
be reflected in the choice
compositions that would
illustrative
Qazi Ahmad,
7. British
history of Persian manuscript illustration contains
for
Society, 1982), cat. no. 30.
Qazi Ahmad,
p.
awratt^
Asia
115.
painting.
of
as the prince's
and he may have inspired
33), see
Cary Welch, Arts of
Manuscripts of the Sixteenth Century
other notable examples of the integration
of text and image
Stuart
Book: Tlie Collection of Prince Sadrtiddin
9.
of that message.
Chapkhana^yi Ziba,
37-40; Collection of Prince
Qazi Ahmad, Callipaphcrs and Painters, pp.
183, 160; Qazi Ahmad, Gnlistan^i hnnar, pp. 143,
may have selected the Haft tui'rai{^ for illustration
message about
his kitabkhana artists to create
kitabkhana^i saltanati
the Islamic
6.
to
14.
5.
number of Haft awmii^ scenes.
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza
because of
marriage
1
Badri
A^a Khan
for the
of mystical poetry, his gubernatorial appointments, and the events leading
to
'at
Library, Tehran) (Tehran:
cycle as illustrated
medium
p.
see
nob,
Fihrist-i miiraqqa
or both
entirely plausible that
it is
),
Tehran (Catalogue of the albums of the Imperial
Ibrahim Mirza. Yet given
Certainly various biographical details
up
(Giiden of
Atabay,
he deliberately sought to intensify the message of Jami's poetry
and
Giilistan-i hnnar
Ahmad Suhayli^Khunsari, 2d ed.
Sadruddin Aga Khan, Geneva (ms
pushing the case too
Jami with
perhaps even
V Minorsky
loob,
64b, 132a, and 264a).
WOULD BE
A
( circa
(Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art, 1959),
Anthony Welch and
IT
294.
(Tehran: Kitabkhana Maiuichihn, n.d.),
and 275a). Throughout
apotheosis (folios 105a
114b, i2oa,
of
p.
Calli^raphers and Painters:
A.H. loiyjA.D. 1606), trans.
accept a fundamental verity has adverse and sometimes even fatal conse^
quences
Century (Los
Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sacklcr Gallery,
Treatise by
52a and
the Fifteenth
Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art;
stages brings the ability
between right and wrong
Lentz and
Timiir and the Princely Vision :
Art and Cultnrcin
Persian
153b and 207b), the trauma of self-doubt
147a and 221b), and the recognition or assertion of self^worth
(folios
Egyptian Book Organization, Cairo
Adab Farsi 908), see Thomas W.
imperative of
life.
19
Qazi Ahmad,
158;
p.
47.
Calli(_raphers ai\d Painters,
Qazi Ahmad,
Gulistan-ihiinar, p.
no.
PART 2. ILLUSTRATIONS IN SULTAN IBRAHIM MIRZa's Haftawrang
Folio loa
THE WISE OLD MAN CHIDES A FOOLISH YOUTH
14.6X
The
13
cm
composition in the Freer Jami, illustrating
first
gold) about spiritual enlightenment,
pictorial
program.
A Sufi
pir,
and
shoes.
The
a
old
a passage in Silsilat al^dhahah
modest introduction
or master,
when it suddenly turns to mud. The
his clothes
is
and
his
young
(Chain of
to the manuscript's otherwise
complex
disciple are traveling together along a road
master continues walking, but the youth stops, afraid of soiling
man
then chastises his disciple, reminding
him
that
it is
far
more
important to keep his heart pure than his clothes clean.
Although
pir
the illustration faithfully depicts the scene as narrated in the Silsilat aUdhahah text, the
and novice pass through
a stream rather than the
muddy
presumably mud, cover the old man's tan robe. The young
the water lapping over his
gazing up
behind
a
at a
bear
left
shoe.
deer
who in
rock in the lower^right foreground.
trees
and
lifts
his
birds,
seems
to
Brown
stains,
orange outer robe to avoid
The craggy background contains its own
who looks down at a
clouds and entwined
road specified by Jami.
disciple
little
turn peers back across the
drama, with a fox
hill at a
fox lurking
A series of paired natural features, including racing
mirror the
human
protagonists alongside the stream
below and hint at the complex interactions characteristic of the Freer Jami's subsequent
illustrations.
21
Folio 30a
A DEPRAVED
AND
25
IS
MAN COMMITS BESTIALITY
BERATED BY SATAN
cm
X 19
This marvelous
illustration falls in a section
manifestation of devotion to
acts
and
While
the
man
people reproach you,"
By God, such
The
man
—
is
Silsilat al-dlmliab that
not speak
man
in the desert
the devil, "they will
a trick has never entered
only to
who
is
overcome by
lust
blame me, and
more pained than
lustful
—
tied to the animal's
from the
has hitched
hind
right,
peers from a rocky outcropping just above the
lively
—
in this case astonishment
Its
legs.
and mounts
him
for his act.
a
is
a female
"Before
bad name.
up
where the desperate
his clothes
and mounted
the
A large Bactrian camel, who may be
and wearing an embroidered
mounted camel. He holds
—
a finger to his
cap, Satan
mouth
in a
typical of classical Persian painting.
encampment, featuring various domestic
areas of the illustration.
as a
corrupt and
while a young camel, perhaps an offspring,
grazes peacefully alongside. Dark^faced, white^bearded,
gesture of emotion
is
would be giving me
that
"vile trick" takes place in the lower^left corner of the composition,
actually looking
God
my heart, and such vileness has never come to my mind."
the she^camel's mate, stares indignantly
tetic
concerns prolonged silence
listen
thus occupied, Satan appears and begins to curse
rails
camel from two wooden supports
A
and
outdoing and astonishing the devil himself The theme
talks as Satan's deputy, even
reinforced by an anecdote about a
camel.
of
God. Whoever does
activities,
denizens, including musicians
dominates the middle and upper
and acrobats, may be gypsies
—
peripa/-
peoples long regarded in Iran and elsewhere as having loose morals and being synonymous
with shamelessness.
The combination
gypsy encampment above
entertainers,
group of
may
— and
of two seemingly unrelated scenes —bestiality below and
juxtaposition of ordinary folk, such as the
washerwoman, with
constitute a twofold pictorial reproach against an individual malefactor
and
a
social outcasts.
23
Folio 38b
THE SIMPLE PEASANT ENTREATS THE SALESMAN
NOT TO SELL
26.3 X
14.5
HIS
WONDERFUL DONKEY
cm
Inscribed over doorway:
By order of the kitabkliana of Abu ^l-Fatli
Sultan Ibrahim
Mirza
Inscribed at top of building:
Oh
God, strengthen
the rule of the just Sultan
Abu ^UMuzaffar Shah Tahmasp aUHusayni.
May God perpetuate his reign beyond the separation of the two worlds [ death ].
This
is
one of two
Tahmasp and
Fickle
illustrations in the Freer
Jami with an inscription that
extols the Safavid
another that announces Sultan Ibrahim Mirza as the manuscript's patron.
Old Lover
Is
Knocked off
the
Rooftop (folio 162a), the
Here they may
subtly to the surrounding Jami verses that caution us against believing in flatterers
who
As in
The
placement of these epigraphs mirrors the
dynastic relationship between the Safavid king and his princely nephew.
conveyed through the story of a naive peasant
monarch
put his old donkey up for
—
sale at
a
also refer
message that is
market, only to
taken in by the salesman's pitch about the pathetic creature's strength and energy.
The
illustration captures the hustle
and
bustle of a city marketplace filled with salesmen,
customers, horsemen, and even a herdsman and goats.
The tiled facade in the background undoubt/
That
edly represents a bazaar, center of the town's commercial activity.
under royal patronage
is
suggested both by the inscription proclaiming
heraldic device in the form of a shield, bow,
and quiver hanging
this
building
may
function
Shah Tahmasp and by
just inside the
the
arched entryway.
More human interest is provided at the bazaar's right side, where a bearded shopkeeper sits on a raised
platform in front of shelves laden with loaves of bread.
out flour
from a cloth sack
for a stout,
He uses gold
and
silver
young boy, perhaps a grandchild, who looks down
seller
and
ated donkey stumbling
the naivete of the peasant.
in the
a
Most
striking
is
point about the venality
the difference between the emaci/
middle of the marketplace and the elegant dappled horse and rider
prancing along in the same direction.
24
is
in trepidation at a yapping dog.
The composition also abounds in pictorial contrasts that reinforce Jami's
of the donkey
weights to measure
matronly shopper. Hanging onto the old woman's sash
Folio 52a
A FATHER ADVISES HIS SON ABOUT LOVE
26.3 X 16.8
cm
Inscribed on back wall:
/
have written on the door and wall of every house about the^rief of
my lovefor yon.
That perhaps you might pass by one day and read the explanation of my
In
my heart I had hisface before me.
With
thisface before
May your grief
A
.
me I saw
that which I
and praising
his
had in
my heart.
.
lovely youth asks his father
appearance.
how
The
to
choose from
paternal advice
beauty and to respond only to the admirer
utes to the true love of inner qualities.
that,
although divine love
is
eternal
The
and
who
is
the
many
suitors courting his favor
to ignore protestations
of affection
for physical
attrib-'
wise father concludes his discourse with the explanation
faultless,
every person sees beauty with different eyes.
This discussion on the essence of love takes place
is
among
has passed beyond infatuation with external
characteristic setting for lovers in Persian literature
son
condition.
in a beautiful
garden bower and pavilion,
a
and art. Although the identification of father and
not immediately apparent, they arc most likely the two figures seated beneath the tree on the
right side of the raised, octagonal terrace
—
the gray^bearded father in a
brown robe and
the son in
orange gesturing toward the center of the scene.
The moral and message of this
Silsilat aUdliahab text are forcefully
place under the pavilion archway. There two
tional
metaphor both
of the chess
allusions
—
for life
game and
first
men
are intently
and for the relations between
the difference in age
to the subject
lover
conveyed by the
engaged
in a
game of
taking
chess, a tradi'
and beloved. The prominent position
and demeanor between
the
two players
of the interchange between father and son and then
between physical qualities and
activities
are clear visual
to the distinction
spiritual essence.
An even more pointed and poignant commentary on the meaning of Jami's verses appears on the
back wall of the pavilion, where a young
beloved. His verses both enframe
man
and address
pens a
a
poem about
the pain of love he feels for his
standing painted figure,
who must
represent the
beloved.
27
Folio 59a
THE DERVISH PICKS UP HIS BELOVEd's HAIR
FROM THE HAMMAM FLOOR
X 19cm
30.1
This
sin
lively
hammam, or bathhouse,
sets the stage for a
and repentance involving an old Sufi mendicant,
The young man
is
him
causing
or dervish,
having his head shaved, and the dervish
the ground. Despite this
and other stratagems,
to die grief^stricken.
poem about
long and complicated Hajt awran^
who tries to court a beautiful youth.
collects every strand
of hair
as
it
falls to
the youth refuses to pay any attention to the old
Later shaken by an apparition of the deceased, the young
himself becomes a mendicant and
passes the rest of his days striving for divine love
through
man,
man
acts
of
atonement for the dervish's death.
The painting relates to the beginning of the story when the dervish tries to win the affections of the
beautiful youth in the
hammam.
As an illustration it seems to have much less to do with the actions and
reactions of the lover (the dervish)
Jami
sets
the
first
and beloved
part of his moralizing
(the
young man) than with
the bathhouse
where
tale.
The bathhouse is an elaborate, multichambered structure depicted in sectional elevation with one
room
stacked above the other and a side entrance projecting into the left-hand margin.
A turbaned
youth, apparently having just dismounted from the richly caparisoned horse below, enters the
hammam behind
and
into the
a
young man and
a
little
changing room. This space
boy
is
who
have already passed through the entry portal
hung with
colorful towels
and metal buckets used
bathing and occupied by hammam attendants and patrons in various stages of undress.
man
carrying a child, both
through a door at the
The
right,
wrapped below
the waist in long towels, leaves the
presumably heading
for the
in
A bearded
changing room
bathing areas depicted below.
bath chamber dominates the lower part of the composition and includes about a dozen
bathers clad only in towels. Attendants are scrubbing and massaging young clients around an
octagonal pool in the foreground, while a pair of middle-aged bathers, immersed up to their chests,
soak in a rectangular tank
to
at the rear.
Toward the left side an elderly white^bearded man stoops down
pick up something quite small from the green^tiled
Jami's
tale,
collecting the hairs of his beloved,
floor.
who may
This aging figure may be the dervish of
be the young
man
above having
his
head
shaved.
29
Folio 64b
BANDITS ATTACK THE CARAVAN OF AYNIE AND RIA
cm
27.9 X 18.2
The
Silsilat al-'dlmhah
bride Ria
poem
contains a long love story about a young
groom named Aynie and
his
who set off with a caravan to visit Medina, the Muslim holy city in the Arabian peninsula.
While only
ten kilometers
fights bravely
and
ing bandits.
When
from Medina, the newlyweds
kills virtually
Ria
the entire
sees her
length, then places her face
on
his
band of brigands
husband's
and
are set
dies.
lifeless
upon by armed marauders. Aynie
until he
is
felled
by one of the few remain^
body drenched in blood, she laments
The couple's friends shroud them
in a single grave, to be united forever. Eventually a tree
grows on the burial
and bury them
in silk
spot,
its
at great
limbs streaked in
yellow and red representing the paleness of the couple's faces and their tears of blood.
This tragic
tale
belongs to a
series illustrating the stages
of
about the dervish wooing the beautiful youth in the Immtuani
each other: the young husband dies protecting his bride,
without her husband. These pure souls
union and
—
love,
which
(folio 59a).
also includes the anecdote
Aynie and Ria
die for love of
who in turn expires because she cannot live
their love cut off in full flower
—
are then joined in eternal
spiritual resurrection.
The illustration
depicts the
moment when Aynie, mounted on
a
camel and holding a long spear,
seems to have succeeded in routing the attackers, while Ria, also on camelback, looks on from the
right.
foot.
Most of
Another mounted attacker, brandishing a sword,
On
the whole
this
Aynie on camelback,
significant details.
is
flask.
it
to the
Haft awrang
evil
text.
a
from above;
few
may
be the
specific elements,
such
fatal
as
blow.
Ria and
Yet the composition also contains several
is
being guided through the
blind beggar
may
refer to Ria's
from the
right: a
mayhem by
a
stooped blind
man
carrying a
young man equipped with
a staff
lament that the sun went into decline upon Aynie's
may allude more generally to Jami's discussion of how,
darkness, he turns his face from himself and toward the beloved.
30
his
on horseback or on
taking place on the battlefield. Far more original and
the pair of figures entering the scene
The
death, or he
that relate
between good and
bronze begging bowl
and
is
attacks
a standardized battle scene with
flee
The two fantastic creatures confronting each other on Aynie's saddle blanket seem
to parallel the duel
intriguing
and others
the bandits have been slain (two by decapitation),
far
after the lover
has
come to know
Folio loob
THE AZIZ AND ZULAYKHA ENTER THE CAPITAL OF EGYPT
AND THE EGYPTIANS COME OUT TO GREET THEM
29.1 X 19.5
cm
Inscribed over city entrance:
The black pupil of your eye is an
amhergris^ scented beauty mark on theface of time,
[ You are] the glory of paradise and the envy of the picture gallery of China.
The romance of Yusuf and Zulaykha
The
universally regarded as the masterpiece of the Haft awrang.
is
long and complicated masnat'i opens with an evocative discourse on absolute beauty and the
power of love and progresses through
a dense plot
and Zulaykha (characters more familiar in
wife)
and
man
traditions outside the
particularly Zulaykha's enduring passion for
of dreams of
the
and multiple subplots narrating the lives of Yusuf
a radiant
Near East as Joseph and Potiphar's
Yusuf Her
infatuation begins with a series
male youth of superhuman beauty and grace. Later she comes
of her dreams
is
the aziz (minister) of
Egypt (Misr) and
is
overjoyed
to believe that
when
her father
arranges her marriage to the aziz and sends her off to Egypt escorted by a magnificent caravan.
late she realizes, in despair, that the
This
illustration depicts the
aziz
is
Too
not her beloved.
moment when Zulaykha,
riding in a camel/borne
litter
and followed
by both female and male attendants, reaches the gates of the Egyptian capital, where the aziz has
come to meet her. Mounted on a white horse, the groom approaches his bride and turns backward to
take a golden platter
from an attendant,
bridal party with gold, silver, pearls,
initiating the traditional Iranian
and jewelry. Musicians play
boys with castanets dance for Zulaykha. Zulaykha
is
further
custom of showering
a variety of instruments,
welcomed by
the Egyptians
the
and two
crowding
and minaret and heralded by additional musicians pounding kettledrums
the city's walls, domes,
and sounding clarions.
Teeming with more than one hundred people, this expansive composition vibrantly represents the
principal actors
and action of Jami's poem. At
the
same time
its
myriad
figures
and urban
accord with an account of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's welcome of his bride, Gawhar^Sultan
outside the city gate of
Mashhad
in the spring
of
1
560.
It is
this
32
—
marvelous painting
art
and
life
of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza appear
just as the princely patron
Khanim,
possible that the description of Gawhar--
Sultan Khanim's wedding party and the depiction of Zulaykha's are rooted in a
such celebrations. In any event the
setting
may have intended.
common topos for
to
come together
in
Folio 105a
YUSUF
24 x20.8
IS
RESCUED FROM THE WELL
cm
Yuiuf and Zulaykha
is
the most frequently illustrated of Jami's seven masnavis,
well-'known episode in the
Iran.
life
of the Prophet Yusuf was a particular
and
this scene
of the
favorite in sixteenth^century
As recounted in the Bible, the Koran, and a variety of Persian poems including the Hajt awrang,
Yusuf was thrown
into a well by his jealous brothers. In Jami's version of the tale,
the well by the angel Gabriel. After three days a caravan en route to Egypt
first
person to draw water from the well
tells
Yusuf to stand
in
it,
"and when you
is
a
rise
man named
Malik.
Yusuf is joined
in
camps beside the well. The
When the bucket appears,
above the rim of the well, you will once more
Gabriel
fill
the sky
with light."
Much of the composition is devoted to the caravan encampment, pitched in a rocky landscape that
spills
rest
out into the
and attend
left
margin.
to their
own
taking place in the middle
tree full
Some caravanners are cooking and looking after animals, while others
comforts.
tent.
Of
The right
particular note
is
what looks
side of the illustration
like a literary discussion
dominated above by
is
a large plane
of birds and below by the well into which Yusuf was cast by his jealous brothers.
rendered in cross section as an irregular cave. Within
in flames.
The winged
angel holds the bucket as
which he has been perched throughout
its
depths are Gabriel and Yusuf, both nimbed
Yusuf prepares
his ordeal.
to step into
is
this,
which sends such
a shining
it
from the boulder on
Bracing his foot against a rock
unwitting rescuer Malik has just begun to draw up his bucket and
lucky fate
The well is
is
for leverage, the
about to exclaim:
"What
a
moon from the depths of a dark well."
35
nob
Folio
YUSUF TENDS
20.5
HIS
FLOCKS
X 16.4 cm
After his rescue from the well, Yusuf
the service of the aziz of Egypt.
embarks on
man,
a
of
a series
since only those
group of
special
these flocks
is
taken to Egypt, where he
There Zulaykha
futile efforts to
win
who tend flocks are
lambs with
his love.
fit
silken fleece
finally
is
sold at a slave market
encounters the
Learning that Yusuf
is
man
set
and
enters
of her dreams and
on becoming
a herds^
prophets and leaders of nations, Zulaykha gathers
to be
and heavy
accompanied by Zulaykha, who devotes
tails.
Yusuf then goes
off to the plains to tend
watching over him.
herself to
This episode in the Yusuf and Zulaykha narrative immediately precedes Zulaykha's declaration
of love
for
outset,
is
totally
Yusuf and
that a lover
immersed
the start of conflict in their relationship.
point, as articulated by
Its
in the will of the beloved.
representation of
would-be
Yusuf
as
herdsman and would-be prophet and Zulaykha
lover, the illustration also contains certain features that reinforce the
nurturing, and
other equine.
selfless love.
The
Most obvious
attentive goat at Yusuf's feet seems to parallel
story.
The
aggressive scenes of animal
foreshadow the conflict about
36
to
may
refer to the
combat
in the
Zulaykha
as
to the text in
guardian and
themes of caretaking,
are the mother^-and-'child pairings,
seemingly antagonistic scene in the foreground
Zulaykha
at the
who can shed all personal desires, as Zulaykha can do for the moment, becomes
This charming painting is among the smallest in the Freer Jami manuscript. Faithful
its
Jami
one
human and
in the tent above.
imminent tension
the
The
in the Yusuf and
surrounding margins also appear
develop in this Haft awrang narrative.
to
Folio
1
14b
YUSUF PREACHES TO ZULAYKHa's MAIDENS
23.7 X 15.9
IN
HER GARDEN
cm
Inscribed on facade archway:
Upon
this
emerald arch there
"Everything that [exists]
Having
hundred
She arranges
maidens
pietty
Zulaykha plans
desire.
Once
a pre^eternal inscription:
dependent upon Alt and hisfamily.
seduce Yusuf on her own, Zulaykha resorts to surrogates and even more deceptive
failed to
stratagems.
is
is
for
to
to secretly
Yusuf
to enter her beautiful
enclosed garden and then sends along one
entertam the youth. Imagining that Yusuf will fancy one of the
change places with the favored maiden and
again Yusuf recognizes and
foils
finally
girls,
achieve her heart's
her ruse, and instead of yielding to the maidens'
He
charms, he spends the night preaching to them about the mercy and wisdom of God.
teaches the girls to recite the shahada, the profession of the faith of Islam,
and leads them
to
also
acceptance
of the one true God.
Yusuf
sits
on the
terrace of a large
Zulaykha's maidens.
garden pavilion and gestures outward in speech
white candlestick behind Yusuf indicate that
seem
to
to a
group of
The lighted tapers, the crescent moon at the sky's upper edge, and the blue and
be paying more attention
to
it is still
one another than
dark in the garden.
to their guest,
Some of the young women
but Zulaykha, leaning out of a
window at the upper right, certainly is concentrating intently on the scene below.
Although
details that
in
its
overall representation the painting closely follows the text, there are
for
by the couplet inscribed on the facade in which the word "arch" may
metaphorically to the vault of heavens.
spiritual nature
is
refer
The brick and tile archway thus takes on new significance as a
mirror image of heaven's arch.
emphasize the
The role of the inscription within the illustration may be to
of Yusuf's discourse with Zulaykha's maidens and Jami's overall
theme of the power of divine love.
38
specific
convey the message of conversion and redemption. The lack of any direct visual signs
compensated
terrestrial
few
Folio i2oa
THE INFANT WITNESS TESTIFIES TO YUSUf's INNOCENCE
21. 6x
14cm
Inscribed over central arch on facade:
May [no j eye he graced with light without [ the sight of] yourface;
The arch of your eyebrow is the qihla of
the people.
Inscribed over side doors:
Tear [open ]
It is a
Signed
my breast [and] enter here.
most private place of
to left
seclusion, open the door
and come in.
of inscription over central arch:
Written by Shaykh^ Muhammad [the] painter
In her continuing
Yusuf
is
efforts to
seduce Yusuf, Zulaykha lures the youth into her magnificent palace.
on the verge of yielding
that she worships idols.
He quickly
to her passionate
when he suddenly becomes aware
advances
breaks out of Zulaykha's embrace and
seductress in hot pursuit. Outside they encounter Zulaykha's
woman accuses Yusuf of having tried to ravish her.
husband
Deceived by
Yusuf away when a three^month^old baby,
the son of
the palace with the
and
the frustrated
his wife, the aziz orders
imprisoned, notwithstanding the youth's protestations of innocence.
lead
flees
the aziz,
The
Yusuf to be
palace guards begin to
one of Zulaykha's attendants, loudly (and
miraculously) proclaims Yusuf 's innocence and cautions the aziz against punishing the youth.
This dramatic revelation occurs in front of Zulaykha's palace, with the bearded aziz standing
woman
to the
high conical hat, looks more
like a
under the central archway and turning back toward the child held
right.
The
infant witness, gesturing in speech
miniature adult than a suckling baby.
the terrace by
a
arms of
a
As the aziz listens to the babe's testimony, Yusuf is escorted off
armed guards. Zulaykha
identifiable; she
and wearing
in the
may be the woman with
—
the other principal figure in this episode
—
the fancy headdress leaning out of the left-hand
As in other Freer Jami illustrations, the scene is raised from the literal to the literary
which
is
not from the Haft awrang, inscribed on the palace facade.
punning reference to the architecture on which
terpart (the qibla niche in a
mosque indicating the
future position as a prophet.
Yusuf and Zulaykha and
it is
written (the archway)
direction of prayer),
The first line is particularly apt
stresses that joy
Shaykh^Muhammad was
less easily
window.
by
a couplet,
verse constitutes both a
and its metaphorical coun^
and
a
paean
to
Yusuf and
his
since Jami uses light images throughout
and beauty are eclipsed whenever Yusuf is confined.
a versatile Safavid artist
known
Mirza. His minute signature, contained within a brick to the
cates that he transcribed the verse.
The
is
The word
left
to
have worked for Sultan Ibrahim
of the central arch inscription, indi^
"painter" after his
name
also suggests that
Shaykh/
Muhammad may have designed and executed the entire illustration. Was he playing a game or trick
on his princely patron in hiding his name so cleverly?
41
Folio 132a
YUSUF GIVES A ROYAL BANQUET
27X
19.4
HONOR OF
IN
HIS
MARRIAGE
cm
Inscribed over archway:
Abu 'UFath
After
many
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza
years of suffering for
Aged and Wind, Zulaykha
live
with him
beauty but
forever.
feels
Zulaykha and of honor and glory
loves
still
Through
Yusuf
commitment
is
desire to
able to restore Zulaykha's sight, youth,
to purity
removed, however, when the angel Gabriel brings
self in
Yusuf, the two met again.
Yusuf (who has remamed young) and expresses her
his prayers,
torn between his
for
and
a divine
his
vow to
help her. All hesitations are
command that Yusuf should
marriage to Zulaykha. Thereupon Yusuf prepares a banquet
to
and
unite
him/
which he invites the Egyptian
king and other dignitaries.
As
represented here, Yusuf's
wedding party
consists of
an all^male gathering on a richly ap/
pointed terrace. Yusuf occupies the most prominent spot in the assembly, kneeling on a small white
rug, his
is
surrounded by golden flames
courtiers to the groom's right
ters
As in all the other
hands clasped together.
Yusuf's head
—
Yusuf and Zulaykha illustrations in the Freer Jami,
a sign of his sanctity.
Like the
illustration
Sukan Khanim,
of Zulaykha's bridal entourage
at
weddings
(folio
loob), this beautiful painting
festivities
his cousin
for several
and
the daughter of
at
Shah Tahmasp. Here the
Mashhad, where Ibrahim Mirza had
months
would have involved
ine, for instance, that
escorts
and
reflects
such a
possibility
is
was
tell
us that the
recently been appointed governor,
actually
consummated.
It is
different kinds of parties, primarily all/male affairs.
from the famous
would explain
banquet, since Shah
before the marriage
strengthened
likely that the
One
can imag/
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza might have given a reception in honor of his bride's male
invited clerics
fete
may
marriage of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza, patron of the Freer Jami, and Gawhar/
of Gawhar/Sultan
was celebrated
plat/
in Iran.
by the presence of the prince's name over Yusuf's head. Sixteenth/century sources
arrival
include three
and five clerics in front. Standing attendants at the lower edge hold
with sugar cones and other sweets traditionally offered
relate directly to the
The seated guests
Imam Reza
shrine in
Mashhad. That
this illustration
the absence of the king mentioned in Jami's narrative of Yusuf's
Tahmasp did not accompany his daughter to Mashhad.
43
A'
Folio 147a
THE GNOSTIC HAS A VISION OF ANGELS CARRYING TRAYS OF
LIGHT TO THE POET Sa'^DI
23.1
X 16.7
cm
Inscribed over door [Koran 38:50]:
Gardens of Eden, whereof
Inscribed
on cornice at
The solitary
retreat
the £ates are openedfor them.
right
and
center:
of the dervishes
is
the garden of paradise above;
To serve dervishes is the leaven of pomp [meritorious]
The castle of paradise to which Kezvan
Is a belvederefor the
He
the gatekeeper
mercy of the dervishes.
Inscribed on cornice at
When I saw him
is
left:
like the fill
moon at the ed^e of
the roof
was lookin^for something, and I saw him complete [like thefull
This painting
illustrates a
moon ].
passage in Subhat al^abrar (Rosary of the pious), one of Jami's didactic
masnavis concerning the progression of the soul toward union with
SaMi
writes a verse in praise of
God.
A
God. One night the famous poet
gnostic, or mystic, troubled in his belief in the divine,
dreams that a group of angels are coming down from heaven and carrying coins of light. The gnostic
asks the heavenly spirits
God and
where they
are going,
and they
from heaven
that they are taking a gift
to
him. The
dwelling and overhears the poet reciting the very verse
the dream.
spirituality
The
lesson of this story
is
ment
is
abode.
The idea of a verse, such
While
verse to
the angels in
works of great
artistic sensitivity to the
as the one
theme of the pure and divine nature
SaMi has composed,
as a source
of spiritual enlighten-'
swooping down onto
the roof of the poet's
they obviously illustrate radiant rewards from heaven, they also signify the guiding
SaMi's verse provided
the general
new
then goes to the door of SaMi's
which he was rewarded by
that pious poets have the capacity to create
implicit in the flaming trays held by the angels
light that
for
man
has written a
and assuage the doubts of those seeking enlightenment.
This painting reveals considerable
of poetry.
SaMi
reply that
to the gnostic.
The various inscriptions on the building also reinforce
theme of Jami's text, including the Koranic verse over the door that describes the rewards
of paradise reserved
for all true believers in the faith
and the gnostic as one who has heeded
the
of Islam. Clearly SaMi
is
considered as blessed
word of God and escaped the tortures of the damned.
45
Folio 153b
THE PIR REJECTS THE DUCKS BROUGHT AS PRESENTS
BY THE MURID
23. 9x 17.4
cm
To save his soul, a powerful monarch becomes the murid, or pupil, of a pious dervish. The king takes
a
hundred
several
gifts to his pir, or
ducks with
master,
his falcon.
who
These he
the ascetic, the king lives by tyranny, so
The encounter between pir and
accepts none.
dead duck lying on
In front to the
which may have been one of
water
bottle,
its
expanded
The king,
left is
at a
cave
m the middle of a rocky hillside. The
inside the entrance to the cave
a small vessel with
the king's previous offerings.
From
sides indicating the pir's abstinence.
whose humble demeanor marks him
spurned again. In the eyes of
nothmg he does is right and nothing he touches is pure.
pupil takes place
and bareheaded, kneels
side.
day the king goes hunting and catches
also offers to the pir, only to be
white/'bearded ascetic, gaunt
its
One
double handles and a spigot,
the top of the cave hangs a leather
To the left stands a dark-skinned man
in elegant attire, kneels immediately outside the cave, his falcon perched
who
landscape teems with animals and people,
in this scene
many of whom
may be the normal
on one gloved
holds a second falcon beating the air with
wings. Three other pairs of royal retainers approach the cave up a sloping path.
and hunters
are
engaged in hunting. While
retinue of a royal hunting party, they
hunting) as contrasted with the pirs abstinence and purity.
its
The surrounding
serve to reinforce the point about the king's intrinsic unworthiness (since he engages in
46
to a
as a disciple to the pir.
hand. Behind him stands a youthful attendant
falconers
and gestures
all
the
may also
and supports
Folio 162a
THE FICKLE OLD LOVER
24.8 X 19.4
IS
KNOCKED OFF THE ROOFTOP
cm
Inscribed on left-hand wall:
Oil, opener of doors [of paradise]
Inscribed around door frame:
The building of
this strticttire
and its decoration [teas done] by order of the mightiest and most perfect sultan,
Abu ^UMuzaffar Shah Tahmasp al'-Husayni, may the offsprings of the lord of apostles [ Muhammad]
support him
in this
world and the next.
May God perpetuate the shadow of his beneficence and mercy over the
crowns of heads of people of knowledge and excellence and [may
works through the pages oj
God] support the traces of his generous
time.
Inscribed over door:
By order of the kitabkhana of Abu ^UFath
This painting
illustrates a section
Sultan Ibrahim
Mirza
of Subhat aUabrar that concerns the attraction of the loving
toward the "beauty of essence." Jami explicates
his ideas
with an anecdote about
a
spirit
crookbacked old
man who declares his passion for a handsome youth standing on a rooftop. In reply, the boy tells the
old man to turn around and look at someone even more beautiful. When the old man starts to do so,
the youth
knocks him off the roof and he
teach the aged suitor that
it is
falls flat
on
the ground.
The
violent rebuff
is
intended to
impossible to have more than one true love.
The painting depicts the moment when the fickle old man has landed on the ground alongside the
youth's dwelling
and
is
being comforted by a passerby.
and looking down from
the roof
is
The elegantly attired youth
leaning on a staff
probably the main protagonist of Jami's anecdote. Groups of
curious bystanders have gathered on the terrace, while others peer
down from
the building's roof,
window, and balcony.
As in the illustration to the Silsilat al^dhahab story of the peasant selling his donkey (folio
painting contains inscriptions evoking God's blessing on
38b), this
Shah Tahmasp and recording Sultan
Ibrahim Mirza as the manuscript's patron. The ostensible purpose of these inscriptions is to proclaim
the relationship between the king
one
earlier in the Freer
Jami
and
illustrate
the prince.
It is
telling,
however, that both
this scene
and
the
anecdotes concerning foolish old men.
49
Folio 169b
THE ARAB BERATES
HIS
GUESTS FOR ATTEMPTING TO PAY HIM
FOR HIS HOSPITALITY
26.2
X 19 cm
A desert Arab provides generously for an unexpected group of
day of
their stay.
and
camel on each
One day he mounts his camel and takes off from camp. Upon his return he discov^
ers that the guests
the sack
travelers, sacrificing a
have departed, leavmg a sack of gold with his family as payment.
and
his spear
rides off after the travelers, cursing
them
for trying to
The Arab grabs
repay his hospitality.
He also threatens to kill them if they do not take the money back. The travelers have no choice but to
reclaim the sack before continuing on their way.
This
which Jami casts
tration
an apologue
story serves as
is
as
to a Siihhat al^ahrar passage
and
his guests
boy,
poem
felt
tent pitched in the right
background with
presumably members of the Arab's family, standing in the entrance.
leisurely pace, obviously not
expecting confrontation.
immediately apparent, but a spear
ranking
back
to
rests
illus/
except that the final encounter between
bearded Arab, mounted on camelback, rides up to a group of six horsemen,
rider turns
and munificence,"
seems to be taking place in front of the Arab's home.
represented by a finely striped black
little
"liberal giving
one of the stages toward reaching perfect love of God. The accompanying
quite faithful to the literal content of the
the angry host
on
The
The
a
setting
is
woman and
Down
in front the
who are moving off at a
extent of the host's displeasure
is
over his shoulder and a white sack hangs from his hand.
meet the Arab, gesturing outward in speech. This youthful figure
is
not
One
probably the
member of the group, judging from his distinctive turban and fancy horse trappings.
This painting contains no extraneous features that might extend the subject or reinforce the moral
of the Suhhat ai^ahrar
draftsmanship.
noteworthy.
50
The
tale. Its
iconographic simplicity
rendering of
is
matched by
textile patterns, especially the
crystalline clarity
saddle blankets,
is
and
precise
particularly
Folio 179b
THE TOWNSMAN ROBS THE VILLAGER'S ORCHARD
24.5 X 15.6
cm
The seemingly
bucolic setting of this painting belies the tension of
concerns a
ahrar tale
"adorned
like the
pomegranates.
At
fruits,
to stop his visitor.
The
stoic
city dweller
other limbs
has
diliqaii
who
it is
trees
"Who
dull to those
pulls
down
come prepared to do dirty
shares
is
How could someone from the city comprehend a
tree,
[my] pain,"
gotten blisters from the spade, or
says the dihqaii,
"knows [my]
pain,
who do not feel the pain."
the slender branch of a
pomegranate
tree
and plucks off
angle, further evidence of the visitor's ruthlessness.
business, the
a fruit.
Two
Looking like he
townsman wears work clothes and has a stick at his waist
looks more like a refined city gentleman and the
townsman
like a
deliberately switched the traditional attire of the
The primary
The orchard
stands within his enclosed orchard, gesturing outward as if in resignation to the
hang at an unnatural
had
Subhat aU
berserk, breaking off
and a sack draped over his shoulder. Although he has a garden implement stuck
the artist
The
laden with apples, pears, and
townsman goes
has never planted a seed, pruned a
spent long nights irrigating plants;
[but] the description of
subject matter.
and ravaging vines. The villager watches this gratuitous despoliation in
know how
when he
its
invites a city dweller to his garden.
the sight of such bounty the visiting
branches, yanking off
feeHng
who
garden of paradise," with rich grapevines and
agony and does not
villager's
or landlord,
diliqan,
action of this Haft awrang illustration
is
in his sash, the diqhan
rough^hewn country fellow
—
as if
two characters.
bracketed by two contrasting scenes.
At the
top of the composition four youths relax in a pavilion, a familiar vignette in Persian painting that
reinforces the
image of the garden
bunch of grapes
dweller
5i
as paradise.
to a passing beggar,
an
act
At
the orchard
doorway below
a gardener gives a
of charity that surely would have been
lost
on
the city
who had no compassion for the villager and no understanding of the effect of his greed.
Folio
1
88a
SOLOMON AND BILQJS
SIT
TOGETHER AND CONVERSE FRANKLY
23x1 8.7 cm
Inscribed over door:
Seek not the kingdom of Solomon, for it is dust.
The kingdom
is [still ] there,
but where
is
Solomon ?
Like Yusuf (Joseph), King Solomon
figures
prominently in the
features
which
Solomon and
the queen of
Solomon
the Islamic world, including Persian literature.
of passion and
Sheba (known
vice.
in Iran as Bilqis),
The
who
her turn, confides that she longs for every young
mutual need
Solomon and
as full
confesses that, despite his power, he always looks
visitors. Bilqis, in
reveal a
and cultures of
condemns women
in
specific story
are
exchanging
first at
man
Jami
in a passage in
concerns
their
King
innermost
the presents brought by
passing
Thus
by.
the
two
for gratification.
Bilqis appear regularly in classical Persian painting, although the royal pair
often graces manuscript frontispieces than narrative text illustrations.
which
who
another personage from Judeo^Christian tradition
Solomon several times in the Haft awrang, here, in the Salaman and Ahsal poem,
the poet
secrets.
arts
is
The imagery of
more
this painting,
the king and queen are seated side^by^side on a palace terrace, actually draws upon
standardized representations of the two and includes elements derived from Solomonic lore that
Jami does not mention. Solomon's
framed by a flaming nimbus
—
near the throne and the hoary
or
gentleman seated on the
Solomon
left.
In
all
is
covered with a white cloth and his head
both signs of his sanctity and prophethood.
div,
authority over creatures of heaven
elderly
face, for instance,
demon,
and
earth.
in the garden
behind
The winged
also relate to
His reputation for wisdom and justice is
terrace, identifiable as
angel seated
Solomon's legendary
signified
by the
Asraf ibn Barakiya, who served King
and by the aged woman presenting a petition at the palace door to the
woman holding a baby in her arms refers to Solomon's celebrated proposal
as vizier or minister,
likelihood the
to split a child
between two contesting mothers. Notwithstanding Solomon's power and
verse inscribed over the door reminds us that these attributes are only temporary
Jami's Sufi philosophy about the
futility
glory, the
and correspond
to
of striving for worldly possessions.
55
Folio 194b
SALAMAN AND ABSAL REPOSE ON THE HAPPY
22.7 X 19
The
cm
discourse on the nature of passion
of King Solomon and Bilqis
IS
so perfect that he
baby
first
is
Salaman
boy
adviser
called
is
resists
includes
fleeing
and
many
1
who
falls
salamat,
Absal's declarations of passion but
with Absal
whose appearance
meaning "wholeness" or "health." The
later
succumbs
to his
grows
older.
At
own newly awakened
the lovers' refuge as a
birds.
"happy
isle," a lovely
This representation of the island
different kinds
of
and fauna. The
flora
of
arrived at an
rest
idyllic spot,
allude to the censure the lovers have fled
sky, the
snake devouring a
is
silver
a sea of
as if
he
is
about
spot full of springs,
waves (now darkened through oxidiza/
life.
Having disembarked from
There
is
no doubt
their skiff,
that they have
of the world. Yet various details in the illustration
fish,
and
the rabbit snarling
on
the lower shore
and conflict. Indeed,
in
animal passions
is
may
be normal
an anecdote related at
sea creatures are described as impure.
by the racing clouds above. The hero himself
bow and arrow
and tranquil
and give portent of future grief The swan flapping its wings
Salaman and Ahsal poem,
and Absal embarked on
by abandoning his father and
every bit as lush as Jami describes and
their surroundings.
signs of nature in the wild, yet they also signify struggle
the beginning of the
reacts
to a distant island.
to be taking stock
That Salaman
reinforced by the roiling waters
and
strikes a particularly discordant note
to disturb the tranquility
further
with his
of his refuge. Absal seems unconcerned,
monkey chattering under an apple tree surely must be reprimanding Salaman for thought^
lessly shattering the
56
a soliloquy punctuated by the anecdote
rank and inner worth. Salaman
removed from the
but a large
sage responds with a lengthy
in love with her beautiful charge as he
Salaman and Absal seem
reflected
—
The
88a). Eventually the king of Greece has a son
tion) lapping at the island's shore also teem with aquatic
toward the
the king of Greece turns for advice to
long both the king and the sage hear of Salaman and Absal's conduct and admonish
Jami characterizes
trees, fruit,
how
his yearning for a son.
Salaman, from the word
to realize his princely
and
relates
and the evils it can bring
(folio
suckled by Absal, a nurse
desires. Before
the
poem
narrative of Jami's Salamau and Ahsal
renowned philosopher and confides
a
ISLE
peace of the happy
isle.
Folio
207b
THE MURID KISSES THE
21. 6x 13.2
From
cm
time to time throughout the Haft
ciiin-cing,
person about his own feehngs and concerns.
masmvi the poet describes
prayed to
FEET
PIr's
a
moment when
God for guidance,
Jami becomes
self-'referential
At the beginning of the
and speaks
in the
first
Tuhjat aUahrar (Gift of the free)
he was overcome with remorse
at his lack
of
faith.
As he
"the Hght of rehef " appeared in the person of a pir, or spiritual master.
Now filled with the "light of certainty," the poet fell to his feet and rubbed his face on the pir\ sandals.
The
master urged Jami not to be troubled by doubts and
physician so that Jami, the
miirid or disciple,
As Jami explains in a previous passage of
might
fears.
He, the pir, would be
his friend
and
receive enlightenment
through unity with God.
who wish
to penetrate to the essence
Tuhfcit al^ahrar, those
of the divine need the true knowledge that can be gained through close association with a spiritual
master. In the last line of this discussion
Jami urges himself
to strive for
knowledge and
to
turn to
such a pir.
Among
its
the
most straightforward scenes in the Freer Jami,
iconographic precision and compositional
(folio loa)
and The Arab
clarity to
Berates His Guests for Attempting
Since Jami does not describe the location of this event, the
setting,
complete with witnesses.
cates that this
Jami uses
is
in his
poem
and, more
to
Man
Pay Him for His
artist
was obliged
is
comparable in
Chides a Foolish Youth
Hospitality (folio 169b).
to create
an appropriate
carrying the taper at the entrance to the building indi^
a night scene, as stated in the text.
attained by the murid.
58
The youth
this illustration
The Wise Old
specifically, the
This figure may also personify the
light
imagery
illumination cast by the pir and the enlightenment
5^
'
J
A
Folio 215b
THE FLIGHT OF THE TORTOISE
21.7 X 19.5
cm
A tortoise befriends two ducks on a riverbank. After a while the ducks yearn to
tortoise begins to grieve at the prospect
the tortoise to go with them.
Each
clamp onto
his teeth.
a
crowd of
the
middle with
people,
who
marvel
of
seizes
his friends' departure. Fortunately the
one end of a
accompanies
falls to
itself,
to instruct kings
tration
is
seems
60
flies
above
onlookers not to
moral, says the poet Jami,
literary
is
genre of the mirror for princes, in which
about proper conduct. Jami's version of
illustrates the
moment just
before the tortoise's
fall
to
this
popular
speak in vain
and, as with the
follows a well-established sonographic tradition. Like
number
a stick being supported
really
cluster inside
The
to tell the
of Tuhfat al^almr that ends with an exhortation not
representations, including a
hanging onto
the ground.
mouth
tortoise
tale
—
what happened to the tortoise.
The composition
ahrar text
his
for
can cause a downfall.
a discourse
point reinterated by
ducks find a way
from a nearby thicket and has the
The tortoise opens
This amusing parable comes from the ancient
animal fables are used
away, and the
The trio then takes off into the air over dry land and
at the sight.
be envious and consequently loses his grip and
that thoughtless speech
stick
fly
by two ducks
is
the large bulbous tent.
totally oblivious to the
the
aU
of the tortoise
relegated to a small quadrant of sky.
Only
Ttihfat
sixteenth--century
in Hajt atvraiig manuscripts, the principal action
about the excited reactions of the onlookers
and around
many
The illus^
who fill the expansive landscape and
woman bending over her needlework
marvelous scene taking place overhead.
Folio 22ib
THE EAST AFRICAN LOOKS AT HIMSELF
24X
The
13.7
IN
THE MIRROR
cm
TiilijiU al^alirar
poem
contains a discourse about beauty and the allure of the beloved (that
God). When people behold beauty, Jami says, they are looking at their own desire.
is selfish
and holds no
soon become satiated and
light, their eyes
their
is,
Since that desire
mirror (the beautiful beloved
who IS the object of their gaze) turns into torment. Jami emphasizes the point of this discourse with a
brief tale about an ugly East African (meaning a black person) who finds a dirty mirror beside the
road and cleans
it
off.
When
he looks into
its
loathsome reflection is the fauk of the mirror.
image of your own
The moral, according to Jami, is that what you see is the
actions.
In this illustration a
mirror.
shining surface, he begins to curse, thinking that the
tall,
gangling dark-skinned youth stands alongside a stream and holds a
(The silver paint of both stream and mirror has oxidized and blackened.)
earring, signifying servitude, adorns his
left ear.
His
lips are
tioned by Jami, and his eyes are conspicuously protuberant.
A large gold hoop
extremely thick, a characteristic men^
The youth certainly seems disgruntled as
he gazes into the mirror.
Sixteenth^century Persian painting
positions such as the attendants
Hairfrom
rare
the Haniiuati
it is
also
Floor (folio 59a).
unusual
full
of dark-skinned personages, usually in subsidiary
the roof of the bathhouse in
and possibly unique instance of
illustration
62
on
is
a
The
Up
representation of this Ttihjat al^ahrar scene
Negro
for a narrative
The Den'ish Picks
as a principal character.
composition
to consist
His Beloved's
is,
however, a
Within Safavid manuscript
of a single figure.
Folio 231a
QAYS FIRST GLIMPSES LAYLI
25.2 X 15.6
cm
Like Jami's other allegorical romances,
his Layliaiid Majntin
of Arabic, and probably
The poem
oral, origin.
of 1484 belongs to an old poetic tradition
concerns the tragic love story of Qays, a young
man later called Majnun, and a young woman named
Layli.
Jami presents the
archetypes of Sufi love and their tale as an allegory for a spiritual quest.
poet, because love
is
the most inspired of
The encounter of Qays and
tribe has pitched
write about love, says the
themes.
all
Layli occurs in the foreground of a rocky landscape where Layh's
camp. The hopeful
beloved emerges from a tent
I
star-crossed lovers as
Qays kneels on
lover
Qays seems
at the right.
a plot
at left,
accompanied by
to be
and bearded gentleman who stands with one hand tucked
of grass
into his
waistband
and
his beautiful
a short, rotund,
as if to
support his
impressive paunch. Layli, identifiable by fancy earrings and headdress as well as her hesitant
demeanor, also has
a
companion who gently guides her forward.
The encampment
scene contains
many
features that distract
from the momentous meeting of
Layli and Qays, on the one hand, and contribute to the composition's visual appeal on the other.
These features include the
who
camel kneeling in the left-hand margin, the four angels
hover inside the foreground canopy, the simurgh (a large mythical bird) attacking a dragon
atop Layli's
Two
large caparisoned
tent,
and
the various domestic vignettes that
specific figures in this illustration
—
the pipe player
fill
the upper part of the composition.
and
the
wool spinner
—
also appear in
A Depraved Man Commits Bestiality and Is Berated by Satan (folio 30a). The styles of the two paintings
differ considerably,
exhibit
however. Here the figures loom large in relation to the landscape, and their bodies
odd proportions,
as, for
not seem to belong to his torso,
instance, the
which
in turn
young boy riding piggyback, whose head and neck do
seems too short
for his very
long
legs.
65
Folio 253 a
MAJNUN APPROACHES THE CAMP OF
23.5
As
X
in
CARAVAN
cm
19.5
many powerful
incidents of rejection
whelming
LAYLl's
love stories, Layli and
and
despair.
Majnm
contains
moments of
At one point the boy Qays
great passion followed by
loses his reason as a result
passion for Layli, a state comparable to the Sufi's ecstatic experience of
he bears the
name Majnun (meaning "mad") and
of his over^
God. Thereafter
goes off to live in the desert where he becomes
increasingly intimate with nature, another sign of his greater
communion with
the divine.
One day
he sees a tent camp at a distance and learns from a departing cameleer that this is the caravan of Layli's
Majnun
en route to Mecca.
tribe,
follows the caravan at a distance, trying to catch a glimpse of his
beloved.
This encampment scene is without a doubt the most enigmatic
even confusing, composition in the Freer Jami.
Its
complex
illustration
and most complicated,
pictorial structure
is
anchored by
a
half'dozen brilliantly decorated tents and canopies that enframe and provide the backdrop for
numerous
tents
slices
we come
of
camp
life,
some very
across a meal being
verisimilitude), a
realistic
and others quite puzzling. Wandering among
cooked (with a boy blowing on
upper
difficult to interpret: a girl sleeping or fainting in the
arms of
braids restraining a taller female
jumbled juxtaposition of
found
and
the
their
body
for
added
side
between Majnun, depicted
his shoulders,
and
the bearded
as
We
quadrant of the scene, that are
a haglike older
woman,
mirror.
a
little girl
bizarre,
it is
in
Many of the
parts often defy anatomical logic.
mundane and the
left
taking place at the
left
who holds a ewer, and two girls exchanging a
figures have distorted facial features,
around
skewered victual
camel being unloaded, a man lugging fagots, and a beggar holding out a bowl.
also encounter other activities, particularly in the
painting's
a
the
Given
this
easy to miss the conversation
an emaciated youth with a blue blanket
man on camelback who
confirms that the
mad
youth has
his heart's desire.
67
Folio 264a
MAJNUN COMES BEFORE LAYLI DISGUISED AS A SHEEP
23.3
X
14.5
cm
Majnun follows Layli's caravan to Mecca, where he stands next to his beloved for a brief moment. He
then resumes his desolate wanderings in the desert, hoping to find a sheepskin that he can put on and
join Layli's flock.
At this point
Her herdsman
in Jami's narrative
pities the suffering
Majnun
is
youth and gives
readily identifiable as
an
him
a skin to
ascetic, since
wear
as a veil.
animal skin
is
the
who have "left this world." The herdsman is the mediating pir,
spiritual guide, leading Majnun down the mystical path to union with the beloved.
traditional Sufi
symbol of those
Disguised in the sheepskin, which he
passes in front of Layli,
revives
omission
Majnun mingles with
the flock
and
and
is
one of several in the Freer Jami lacking verses in the
text blocks.
The
may be deliberate since the iconography of the illustration does not correspond to the verses
would have been
fainting spell.
fur,
robe of honor,
whereupon he faints from emotion. Layli then takes Majnun in her arms and
him.
This small painting
that
calls a
or
written there
and
Here instead Majnun,
the other animals
seem
to
that
tell,
of
in part,
how
his small face peering out
Layli revived
have just arrived in front of Layli.
The
Majnun following his
from a horned skin of black and white
The young woman
leans over to
pat a black
and white goat
almost
the deep pile underneath Layli's hand. Perhaps this deft representation of fleece in so
many
feel
at the
different colors, patterns,
head of the
and
layers
flock.
was intended
texture of goat hair
to
is
so rich that
we can
emphasize the explicit Sufi imagery and
meaning of Layli and Majnun.
69
Folio 275a
THE MI^RAJ OF THE PROPHET
23.3 X 17.6
cm
The prologue
(Iskandar's
praises
to the seventh
of
of the
mi'^raj,
is
steed
the Prophet to the sun, planets,
ments in images related
Like the poetic
text
it
on
of
sanctity,
as
to
Jami's
and realms and lead
heaven
first
mentioned
miraculously bright, beautiful, and swift. This
Muhammad's
flight
on Buraq from Mecca
scattered coins in his path."
and other celestial bodies and
accompanies,
for the representation
veil as a sign
float
Buraq
him and
to the scattering
in various roles
miraculous ascension
Muhammad.
with an extended description of the luminosity of night and
followed by a short account of
while "the planets gathered around
clouds.
Muhammad's
his rendition
Muhammad's human^headed
raphy
extolling the Prophet
form a general panegyric on the Prophet's supremacy
Koran. Jami begins
section
masnavi of the Hajt awrang, entitled the Kliiradmma^i Iskandari
final
book of wisdom), begins with passages
directly to a description
in the
and
The
to
Jerusalem
poet them compares
casts his glorious qualities
and achieve^
of gems.
this Freer
Jami
illustration follows a well-established iconog^
of the Prophet's ascension
to heaven.
His
face covered
by a short white
Muhammad rides Buraq across a bright blue sky, surrounded by angels and
The Prophet's celestial escorts include the archangel Gabriel and six other angels who fly and
brilliant,
multicolored wings.
and pouring golden
Two angels swoop down from on high bearing golden platters
and sprinkles Muhammad and Buraq
flames, while a third hovers at the rear
with rosewater. In general the depiction of the angels, including their positions, hairstyles, and clothe
ing,
fits
within an
illustrations
artistic tradition familiar
from sixteenth^century Iranian and Turkish manuscript
and album drawings. Garlands of knotted clouds weave and
swirl through the exalted
company to further animate the scene.
71
Folio 291a
KHUSRAW PARVIZ AND SHIRIN DEAL WITH THE FISHMONGER
25
cm
X 17.2
Like Salatmn and Absal, Khiradyiama^i
with moralizing anecdotes.
criticism.
Iskandari
is
a
more
or less
contmuous
narrative punctuated
And also as in Salaman and Absal, women are the subject of harsh poetic
One of the Khiradnama anecdotes concerns King Khusraw Parviz and his wife Shirin who
are presented with a beautiful fish
by a fishmonger wishing the royal couple well. The king
so
is
pleased that he orders his treasurer to reward the fishmonger with thousands of coins. Shirin rebukes
her
husband for this excessive generosity and advises him to get his money back by asking if the fish
male or female. Whatever way the fishmonger
that
it is
unlawful
to eat
such a
fish
put to the fishmonger he answers that the
orders the
falls
out and he bends over to retrieve
and
tells
explains that he picked
want
it
to
it.
Khusraw Parviz should
the return of his reward.
fish is neuter.
amount of the reward doubled. As
the king that he should
replies, Shirin continues,
and then require
is
say
When the question is
This clever reply so amuses the king that he
the fishmonger
walks away with
a large sack,
one coin
Shirin becomes enraged at this demonstration of miserliness
demand
the return of the entire sack. In his defense the fishmonger
up the errant coin because it has the king's name stamped on it and he does not
be ground into the
dirt.
Khusraw
Parviz again rewards this fine reply and concludes that
"when something is done at a woman's command
it is
loss
upon
loss
and
disaster
upon
disaster."
The principal action of the scene takes place in the foreground where the king and queen converse
and
pair,
the fishmonger picks
up
and attendants prepare
courtiers of various ages
the fallen coin.
vessels filled
who amuse
attention to the pithy exchanges
The
beautiful fish rests in a platter in front of the royal
with coins.
The
rest
of the composition
is filled
with
themselves in the extensive landscape and pay virtually no
among the king,
queen, and fishmonger.
73
Folio 298a
ISKANDAR SUFFERS A NOSEBLEED AND
23.8 X 16.7
Alexander
before the
LAID
IS
DOWN TO
REST
cm
Near Eastern
the Great occupied a significant position in
Muslim
era,
and
his fabulous exploits as adventurer, hero,
history
and
literature well
monarch, philosopher, and
even prophet remained legendary throughout the Islamic world even until modern times. Perhaps
nowhere did Alexander
medieval Persian
—
literature,
or Iskandar as he
last
part of Jami's
known in
Iran
—
exercise greater fascination than in
and Khiradmma^i Iskandar is but one of various poetic renditions written
long before Jami composed his seventh and
The
is
poem
final f)W37Mf/ around 1485.
narrates events leading to
and following Iskandar 's death.
A wise
man has prophesied that the young hero would die while traveling in a land made of iron under a sky
of gold. One day during his military campaigns Iskandar rides to a desert, where he is overcome by
the blazing heat and suffers a continuous nosebleed. Attendants help the king down from his horse
and spread his armor for a carpet (the iron ground) and his shield for shade (the golden sky). As he
lies unconscious, Iskandar hears the voice of an angel who whispers that this is the place where he
will die. After regaining consciousness, he dictates a letter to his
metaphor about
years the tree
is
a tree (Iskandar) that
is
to let
instructs his
mother not
torment herself
summons
He
attendants to
him "open the gate to the court of union."
Like the
text
it
illustrates, this
the funeral soon to come.
state
to
mourners become overwhelmed with emotion at his funeral.
concludes with a discourse on the transcendence of earthly bonds and then
help
many
planted and watered by a dihqan (his mother). After
blown away by a fierce wind. Iskandar then
with mourning rituals and not
mother that contains an extended
painting anticipates Iskandar's death by incorporating elements of
The bearded king
hes at the foot of a large
of prostration and impending death. Immediately in front
and men, including
ritualistic gestures.
tree in the
several
Even
background
to the sapling that
mourners
who
a large,
shut eyes signaling his
confused mass of animals
express their grief in grimacing faces, bared chests, and
the horses participate in the
(a part
is
tree, his
drama through combative
displays.
The
of the composition that has, however, been partially repainted)
Iskandar uses metaphorically in his
thick, truncated branches terminating in flames
add
letter as
yet
an emblem of
life
and death.
large
refers
Its five
another powerful element to a scene already
fraught with pathos.
The imminent death of a great Iranian hero who overcomes many obstacles to achieve union with
God makes an undeniably dramatic finale to Sultan
the distinct sense that a particular personal purpose
Ibrahim Mirza's Hajt awmig and
lies
behind the manuscript's
leaves us
with
final illustration.
75
CHRONOLOGY
1540 April
Bu th
of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza, son of prince
Bahram Mirza and Zaynab
Sultan.
1549 October
Death
of
Bahram Mirza; Sultan Ibrahim Mirza moves
of his uncle,
to court
Shah Tahmasp.
1554-55
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza appointed governor of Mashhad; prince and his
entourage leave for
19
1556 early August
early
October
March
Mashhad
late
February 1555 and arrive in Mashhad
1556.
Rustam^Ali completes transcription of
Shah'Mahmud al^Nishapun
Tiihfat ahahrar.
completes transcription of Siihhat ahabrar in
Mashhad.
October
Malik al^Daylami completes transcription of
in
1556-57
Mir'Munshi appointed
to
Silsilat al-dhahah (first section)
Mashhad.
to serve as senior
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza and goes to
counselor and chief financial adviser
Mashhad with
his eleven^year^old son,
Qazi Ahmad.
1557 II
May
June—July
Muhibb'Ali completes
Mashhad.
transcription of Yiisuf and Ziilaykha in
Malik al^Daylami completes transcription of
Silsilat al^dhahah
(second
section).
August— September
Tahmasp
agrees to marriage of his daughter
Gawhar^Sultan Khanim and
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza.
1559 June—July
Malik al'Daylami completes transcription of
in
1559- 60
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza finds gold and
Mashhad and
sends them to
1560 March—June
Wedding
1560- 61
Ayshi ibn
1561- 62
Mir^Munshi removed from
1563
SiUilat aUdhahah (third section)
Qazvin.
party of GawhaivSultan
Ishrati
silver objects after a flood
near
Shah Tahmasp.
Khanim arrives
in
Mashhad.
completes transcription of Salaman and Ahsal.
office.
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza appointed to serve as governor of Ardabil in
northwestern Iran. Shah
Tahmasp
then withdraws this appointment and
instead appoints the prince as governor oi Qa'in in
Khurasan province,
northeastern Iran.
1564- 65
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza participates in two military campaigns in Khurasan
province, the second involving a battle in Herat.
1565 early
May
1565- 66
1566-67
Muhibb^Ali completes
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza reinstated as governor of Mashhad.
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza removed from
appointed governor
1574 April-May
transcription ot Layliand Majnun in Herat.
oi Sabzivar, in
office in
Sultan^Muhammad Khandan completes
Naqsluihadi^
m Sabzivar. This
is
Mashhad
a
second time and
Khurasan province.
transcription of a
volume of
the
the only manuscript other than the Hajt
awrang documented as having been
made "by
order of the kitahhhana of
.
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza."
22 December
1575 9
March
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza recalled to Safavid court
at
Qazvin.
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza appointed grand master of ceremonies
at
Safavid
11,
near
court.
1576 14
May
21-28 May
Death of Shah Tahmasp.
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza greets the
new
shah, his cousin Isma'il
Qcizvin.
1577 23/24 February
4 June
76
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza put to death by order of Isma'il
11.
Death of Gawhar^Sultan Khanim, wife of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza.
.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Canby, Sheila R.
Persian
Paiiitiiio.
London:
British
Museum
Press, 1993.
This succinct survey of the history of Persian painting places the
illustrations of the Freer
Jami
in stylistic context.
Dickson, Martin Bernard, and Stuart Gary Welch. The Houghton
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University
1 vols.
Shciliimiiieli.
Press, 1981.
This monumental publication focuses on the magnificent copy of the
made
Persian national epic
related
works of
art
for
Shah Tahmasp, with
including the Freer Jami.
a vital interest in other
Drawing on a wealth of
Safavid sources and exhibiting an incomparable use of connoisseurship, the
authors identify and discuss the
artists
responsible for the illustrations in
Shah Tahmasp's Shahnmna and Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft awroii^ ^nd
explore the artistic tastes and motivations of these two important Safavid
patrons.
Qazi Ahmad.
Mir^Miinshi
(
Calligraphers and Painters:
Washington,
DC: Freer Gallery of
(Garden
Entitled Ciilistan^i htinar
known, and most
patrons.
in
The
Treatise by
Qadi Ahmad, Son of
author's father
of the arts) in Persian, this
was
senior counselor to Sultan
the best^
is
treatise describes (generally in
quite inflated terms) Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's interests
and
and
Ibrahim Mirza
Ahmad was connected from childhood with the
around the prince. His
as well as the lives
Minorsky
Art, 1959.
frequently cited, primary source for Safavid artists
Mashhad, and Qazi
artistic circles
A
a.h. joj ^/a.d. 1606). Translated by V.
circa
careers of various artists
and accomplishments
who worked at the prince's
kitahklhvia.
Simpson, Marianna Shreve. Sultan
Mirza
Ibrahim
's
Haft aii'ran^:
A Princely
New Haven and Washington, D.G.:
Manuscript Jroni Sixteenth^Centiiry Iran.
Yale University Press and Freer Gallery of Art, 1997.
This
IS
the
first
detailed study of the Freer
Jami
that seeks to explain the
manuscript's material and
artistic contents, pictorial
production, and meaning.
It
Ibrahim Mirza and the
discussions
and
listings
Welch, Anthony.
artists
who worked on the
of each
artist's
Haft awrang, including
oeuvre.
Artists jor the Shah: Late Sixteenth^Centiiry Painting at the
Imperial Court of Iran.
Although
program, methods of
also contains sections devoted to Sultan
New Haven:
the primary focus of this
century and particularly
Abbas (1588— 1629),
It
throughout the century.
artistic
Yale University Press, 1976.
book
is
the last quarter of the sixteenth
developments during the reign
also presents a useful
The fifth
of
Shah
overview of Safavid painting
chapter on "personalities and patronage"
includes a long discussion of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza and the
artists
responsible for the prince's Haft awraiig.
Welch, Stuart Gary.
Sixteenth Century.
Persian Painting: Five Royal Sajaind Manuscripts oj the
New York: Braziller,
1976.
This deceptively small book summarizes many of Welch's ideas about the
history
and forms of Safavid painting and
of the period.
comments of
It
contains the
first
a selection of Freer
77
the seminal patrons
color reproductions
jami
illustrations.
and
and
painters
descriptive
Abdul^Rahman Jami.
INDEX
Abdullah
Note:
Numbers in italics refer to the pages on which illustrations appear.
5ff Jami,
Abdul^Rahman
al^Shirazi, 13
Alexander
the Great. See Iskandar
angels, 14, 45 ,
5 5
65 , 71 , 75 Sf c (i/yo Gabriel
,
.
animals and animal scenes, 21, 23,
in instructive fables,
30, 36, 65, 75
60
The Arab Berates His GuestsJor Attempting to Pay Him for His
(folio
Hospitality
169b), 15, 50-<;j, 58
architecture
bathhouse, 14, 29
characteristics of, in Freer Jami illustrations, 14
Ardabil, 76
Asraf ibn Barakiya,
Ayshi ibn
55
76
Ishrati, 13,
The Aziz and Znlaykha Enter the Capital of E^ypt and the Egyptians Come Out to
Greet Them (folio loob),
Bahram Mirza,
12,
9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19,
32—jj
76
Bandits Attach the Caravan of Aynie and Ria (folio 64b), 14,
1
5
,
30—ji
bath scenes, 14, 29
battle scenes, 14, 30
Bihzad,
i
Bilqis, 55, 56
Buraq,
14, 71
Biistan (Sa*^di),
1
caravan scenes,
30, 32,
35,67,69. See a/jo
encampment scenes
chess, 27
children, 15, 41
mother and child,
15, 36
cityscapes, 24, 32
codicology. See Freer Jami manuscript
cooking scenes,
35,
67
death scenes, 75
A Depraved Man Commits Bestiality and Is Berated by Satan (folio 30a), 14, 15,
17, 19, 22-23, 65
detail,
16
The Dervish Picks Up His Beloved's Hairfrom
14, 19,
28-29,
30,
the
Hammam Floor
(folio 59a),
62
Divan (Sultan Ibrahim Mirza), 12
The East African Looks at Himself in
Egypt, 14,
32,
the
Mirror (folio 221 b),
1
9,
62—63
36
encampment scenes,
17, 23, 35, 65, 67. See 0/30 caravan scenes
AFather Advises His Son about Love
(folio 52a), 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19,
26—27
detail, 10
TheFickle Old Lover
Knocked off
Is
the
Rooftop (folio 162a), 14, 15, 18, 19, 24,
48-49
Firdawsi,
1
The Flight of the
detail,
1
Tortoise (folio
215b), 14, 19, 60-61
<;
Freer Jami illumination, 13, 14
Freer Jami illustrations, 14-15,
16-19
inscriptions in, 13, 15—18,24, 27, 32, 38,41,45,49
See also illustrations by
Freer Jami manuscript
title
(fga 46.12),
13, 15,
18-19, 24, 43, 49, 76.
See also Freer Jami illumination; Freer Jami illustrations
Gabriel, 14, 17,
35, 43,
garden scenes, 27,
71
38, 52, 55
Gawhar^Sultan Khanim,
The Gnostic Has a
(folio 147a), 14,
1
5, 16, 19,
Gulistan^ihunar (Qazi
gypsies, 17,23
78
12, 18,
32,43,76
Vision of Angels Carrying Trays of Li^^ht to the Poet Sa'^di
-^4-45
Ahmad), 76
Hajtawrang (Jami), 9—12, 58, 65, 67, 69, 76. See also Freer Jami manuscript;
masnavishy name
Herat, 10,
1
Qays First Glimpses Layli (Colio
76
1,
Qazi Ahmad,
herdsmen and herding
activities,
69
z^ia.), 15, 19,6^4-65
76
Qrieen of Sheba. Sff Bilqis
12, 43
Thelnjant Witness
12, 13,
Qazvin, 76
hunting scenes, 46
Imam Reza,
Qa ^in, 76
Rustam^Ali,
Testifiesto Yusuf's Innocence
13, 18,
76
(foHo 120a), 14, 15, 16, 19,
^('~4i
Sabzivar, 76
known as Alexander the Great), 19, 75
Iskandar Siijjcrs a Nosebleed ond Is Laid Down to Rest (folio 298a),
Iskandar (also
SaMi,
14, 15, 19,
74~7S
1
45
1,
Safavid dynasty (1501-1732),
Salaman and Ahsal
detail, iS
Isma'il
I
Isma'^il
11 (r.
12, 18
Happy
the
Shah IsmaSl. Sec
Isma'il
Ibrahim Mirza
5//(7/;//i7/;/(;
Abdul^Rahman 1414— 1492), 9—12,
(
58
entries
Yusuf
under
Shirin, 73
Silsilat
Khamsa (Nizami),
1
12,
1,
70— 75
Solomon,
73
the Fisliwonger ({qViq
291a), 14, 19, 72—73
1
kitahkhana, 12, 13, 18,
Koran and Koranic
14, 55,
16-18,21-32,76
the
Salesman Not
to
Sell His IVonderful
76
verses, 12, 15, 35, 45, 71
Donkey
24-25,49
56
Solomon and Bilqis Sit Together and Converse Frankly
Khusraw Parviz and Shirin Deal with
kitahdar,
12,
(folio 38b), 14, 15, 18, 19,
76
Khusraw Parviz,
u,
aUdhahab, 10,
The Simple Peasant Entreats
Khiradnama^i Iskandari, 10— 1
Khurasan,
18,76
Tahmasp Shahnama
Shaykh'Muhammad, 41
See also
32.
12, 13,
(Firdawsi), 16. See also
Shah Tahmasp. See Tahmasp
Jerusalem, 71
Joseph,
194b), 19, 56-57
i
Shah^Mahmud al--Nishapuri,
Jami,
Isle (folio
Satan, 23
1576-78), 76
Jahi. See Sultan
18
9, 12,
54—57, 76
Salaman and Absal Repose on
1501-24),
(r.
10, 11,
,
({o\io i88a), 14, 15, 19,
54-55,56
Subhatal-abrar,
10— 11,
J,',
Sufism, 10— 1
65, 67,
69
1,
Sultan^Husayn Mirza
(r.
16,44-53,76
1470-1506),
10, 11
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza (1540— 1577)
Layli and Majnnn, 10, 16, 64-69, 76
chronology, 76
commissioning of Freer Jami,
Majniin Approaches the
Camp of
Layli's
Caravan
{folio 2^ic\), 14, 15,
19,66—67
detail, ij
Malik al^Daylami,
;
i,
1 3
1
,
8,
(folio 264a),
15,19, 68— 69
32,43,76
references to, in Freer Jami, 13, 15, 24, 43,
76
Tahmasp
71
(r.
1524-76), 43, 76
patronage of the
Medina, 30
arts by, 12, 18
references to, in Freer Jami,
the
Prophet {io\io 27$3.), 14, 19, 70--71
See also
Mir/Munshi, 76
Muhammad, the Prophet.
Muhibb'Ah,
13,
See Prophet
76
tents, 50, 60, 65,
The Miirid Kisses the Pir's Feet
{iolio
zojh),
14, 16, 19,
58-5^
textiles,
(also
known as Naqshbandiyya), 10— 1
5
,
1
8,
24,
known as Houghton
also
Shahnama), 7
50
( 1
370-1 506), 10
The Townsman Robs
the Villager's
Tuhjat aUahrar, 10,
1,
1
16,
Orchard (folio 179b), 15, 17, 19, 52—
58—63, 76
76
Nizami Ganjavi (of Ganja),
10, 15, 18
veils, 55,
painting, Persian
71
wedding scenes,
32, 43
characteristics of classical tradition, 14, 16, 23, 27, 52, 55, 71
The Wise Old Man Chides a Foolish Youth
human figures in,
women,
landscape
style in,
14,
55,62
Yusiif and Ztilaykha, 10, 13, ij,
panegyrics, 71
The Pir Rejects
(folio loa), 15, 16, 19,
3
3— 43, 76
Yusuf Gives a Royal Banquet in Honor of His Marriage
the
Ducks Brought as
Presents by the
19,47-48
Murid (folio
1
5
3
b), 14, 16,
60
{(olio 132a), 12, 15, 19,
'/-'-43
Yusuf
poetry, Persian, 11, 27, 30, 45,
Is
Rescuedjroni the Well (folio 105a), 14, 15, 17, 19,^4-35
Yusuf Preaches
to
Zulaykha
's
Maidens
in
Her Garden
(folio
traditions in, 65
historical figures in, 75
Judeo^Christian traditions
masnavi genve, 10
Prophet Muhammad,
20-21, 58
attitudes toward, 55, 73
1
in Satavid period, 14, 76
Arabic
49
67
Timurid dynasty
Naqshbandi order
1
Tahmasp Shahnama, Tahmasp Khamsa
Tahmasp Khamsa, 12, 13
Tahmasp Shahnama (dispersed,
Muhammad
musicians, 32
Nac]sh--ihadi\
49
Tabriz, 12
12, 13, 18, 32, 43,
The Mi'raj oj
12—13, 18
76
market scenes, 24
Mecca, 69,
9,
76
12, 13, 18—19,
life of,
Majnun Comes hejore Layli Disjinised as a Sheep
Mashhad,
kitabkhana oi, 13, 18,
Yusuf Tends His Flocks
(io\io
nob),
in, 55
Zaynab
Sultan, 76
14, 71
79
14, 15, 19,
36-J7
1
14b), 16, 17, 19,
Pen'iciii Poetry,
Painting
Illustrations in a
&
Patronage
Sixteenth^Century Masterpiece
MARIANNA SHREVE SIMPSON
Commissioned by Prince Sultan Ibrahim Mirza
in 1556, five Iranian
court calligraphers devoted nine years to transcribing the poetic text of
the great Persian classic, the Hajt aivrang (Seven thrones), by the mystical
poet
Abdul'Rahman Jami. Then a team of gifted artists undertook the
illumination and illustration of the manuscript.
created
— housed
and known as the Freer Jami
hundred
folios
The masterpiece they
today in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.,
—
is
a
sumptuous volume of some three
of elegant cursive script with richly decorated margins,
thousands of multicolored section dividers, nine illuminated headings
and nine colophons that begin and end
the
main
divisions of the text,
and
twenty weight narrative paintings. This gorgeous book reproduces to scale
the Freer Jami paintings, discusses each in detail,
manuscript's patron and
artists,
painting
style
and introduces the
and meaning.
Marianna Shreve Simpson describes the cultural and
artistic
milieu in
which Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's great manuscript was created and
explores the special style and imagery of the illustrations. She then
considers the poetic content and mystical significance of the related
passages,
how the paintings interpret the passages, and the unique and
innovative aspects of each painting. In the themes and images of the
paintings,
a whole.
life
and
Simpson
in the
message of the manuscript
finds, are clues to the
This book also includes
a timeline
as
of milestones in the prince's
production of his Hajt owrang.
Marianna Shreve Simpson
is
assistant director for curatorial affairs
and curator of Islamic art at the Walters
Art
Gallery, Baltimore.
A specialist in the Islamic arts of the book with a particular interest in
Persian manuscript illustration and narrative imagery, she has published,
taught,
and lectured widely. She has held various appointments
Freer Gallery of
Art and Arthur M. Sackler
curator of Islamic
Near Eastern
art
(1992-95). Dr. Simpson
author of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza 's Hajt aivrang:
artistic history
the
—
a full
of the Freer Jami.
Copublished with the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian
Washington, D.C.
is
A Princely Manuscriptjrom
Sixteenth- Century Iran, published by Yale University Press
account of the poetic and
at the
Gallery, most recently as
Institution,