Verses by Jami

Persian verses by the poet Jami (d. 897/1492), written in black nasta'liq script produced in 16th- or 17th-century Iran. Agar maqsud didar ast bar gu / Agar ba haqq tura kar ast bar gu / Chu nam-i haqq shanid an mast-i hayran / (biburd) ah u bidad az yad-i haqq jan Dimensions of Written Surface: 17.5 (w) x 26.1 (h) cm If your wish is to meet, say so / If you need something from God, say so / When the mystic (i.e., the "intoxicated with ecstasy") heard the name of the Lord /He sighed and expired from the remembrance of God The fragment is neither dated nor signed. However, it appears to have been produced in 16th- or 17th-century Iran and placed later into an album (muraqqa') of calligraphies. The verses are executed in black nasta'liq script on brown paper and are framed by cloud bands on a gold background. The spaces left open by the intersection of the diagonal registers and the inner frame are filled with blue, gold, and black illumination. The text panel is framed with several borders, including one painted in white and gold containing verses inscribed in independent registers. The outer frame is dark blue and decorated with white and red flowers, and is pasted to a larger pink sheet of paper ornamented with gold-painted flowers and backed by cardboard. This calligraphic fragment includes verses composed by the famous Persian poet Jami (d. 897/1492), whose name appears in the lower horizontal panel inscribed with the verse: qasd-i shuhrat (nabavad) Jami-ra (Jami does not try to seek fame). In the two diagonal registers in the central text panel, the verses describe mystical union with God: Script: nasta'liq 1-87-154.145