Shāhnāmah

Manuscript. Caption title. Name of scribe or scribes not indicated. Written in Kashmir, India. Paper; light-cream paper; four colums per pate with triple-ruled frames of black, blue, and gold; column divisions illuminated in red, blue, and gilt; large illuminated headpieces at ff. 2.v, 153.v, 307v, and 465v., each having a different design, comprising two to three cartouches of red-on-gold calligraphy, surmounted by illuminated panels, surrounded by floreated frames all in various permutations of gold, blue, black, white, red, and pink; section headings in red-on-gold cartouches throughout, and sections of the text arranged into a diamond patterns, with the interstices floreated in gold; text in black ink. Nastaʻliq; 25 lines in written area 28.2 x 15.6 cm. Includes 50 three-quarter-length miniatures to accompany the text. Folios 1a-582b. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M14. Contemporary Indian binding of blind-stamped red leather with bronze clasps, original leater headbands, discreetly rebacked retaining the original spine; flyleaves and pastedowns were renewed in the 19th century; front pastedown has a Persian inscription supplying a foliation; the rear pastdown contains and English cataloger's note (brown ink) supplying the title, author, and date of copying. Browne. A literary history of Persia, v. 1, 110-123; v. 2, 129-145 Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website. Persian. Purchase