Three bayts (verses) to a loved one

Three bayts (verses) to a loved one, written in nasta'liq script by the calligrapher Mir 'Ali Heravi (d. 951/1544-5) during the Shaybanid period. Bi-ka'ba rah cha nama'i ka ka'ba-yi khana-yi tu-st / Harim-i ka'ba-yi man khak-i astana-yi tu-st / Fusun-i chasm-i tu bigirift mulk-i dilha-ra / Miyan-i mardum-i 'alam kanun fisana-yi tu-st / Khayal-i la'l-i tu az dil burun chaguna baram / Ka bar khizana-yi dil daghha nishana za tu-st By drawing on the imagery of Mecca, the Ka'ba, and its Sacred Enclosure (harim), the poet describes his affection of his beloved's eyes and lips as a pilgrimage into his heart. Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.2 (w) 18.5 (h) cm Other calligraphic fragments written by, or attributed to, Mir 'Ali are held in the collections of the Library of Congress. See, for example, 1-04-713.19.38, 1-87-154.158, 1-88-154.65, and 1-90-154.180. The central text panel is topped by an illuminated rectangular panel and includes a decorative triangle in the upper left corner. The verses in the central panel are written in nasta'liq script on a white ground decorated with gold painted flowers. The verses read: The verses are signed by the writer (al-katib) Mir 'Ali [Heravi] (d. 951/1544-5). A master calligrapher in the nasta'liq style, Mir 'Ali was active in the city of Herat (modern-day Afghanistan) during the 16th century until he was taken to Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) in 935/1528-9 by the Shaybanid ruler 'Ubaydallah Khan Uzbek (Qadi Ahmad 1959: 126-131). This calligraphic fragment includes three bayts (verses) of poetry in the main text panel and ten verses of poetry around this panel, creating a "textual" frame decorated with gold vine and leaf motifs. The entirety of the calligraphic piece is pasted to a paper decorated with blue geometric and vegetal motifs highlighted in gold. Why set out to the Ka'ba when the Ka'ba is your home? / The Sacred Enclosure of my Ka'ba is the threshold to your soil. / The bewitchment of your eye captures the territory of hearts, / Now all the people of the world tell your story. / How can I bring out from (my) heart the imagination of your garnet (lips)? / Because in the treasury of the heart there are many marks of you. Script: nasta'liq 1-87-154.159