Persian Poetry, Painting and Patronage: Illustrations in a Sixteenth-Century Masterpiece 0300074832, 9780300074833

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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)

^4

4»

if

^

f*?^^'^

.

,

li

t

."it

...

.1^1.

.,

*

fr/;^*

J

^"

^

^^fe

r

]j

1^

.

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