Verses by Shaykh Baha'i

Verses by Shaykh Baha'i, a mystical Persian poet, 11th century copied in black nasta'liq script during the Safavid period (16th century) Persia. Ay tir-i ghammat-ra dil-i 'ushshaq-i nishana / Khalqi bi-tu mashghul u tu ghayab za zamana (za) miyana / Gah mu'takif-i dayram u gah sakin-i masjid / Ya'ni ka tura mitalabam khana bi-khana / Harkas bi-zabani sukhan-i 'ishq-i tu guyad / 'ashiq bi-surud-i ghamm u mutrib-i tarana Dimensions of Written Surface: 13.2 (w) x 21.5 (h) cm Oh, the arrow of Your grief (is) the target of Your lovers' heart(s) / People are mesmerized by You, but You are absent from both time and place / Sometimes I retire to my monastery, others I inhabit a mosque / That means that I search for You from house to house / Everyone speaks about his love for You in (his own) language / The lover by the song of sorrow and the minstrel by (his) melody The composition is neither signed nor dated; however, the script and decorative style are typical of calligraphies made during the Safavid period (16th century) in Persia. The verses are executed in black nasta'liq script in diagonal on a cream-colored paper decorated with delicate flower and leaf motifs painted in gold. The spaces created by the intersection of the diagonal lines of text and the rectangular frame are filled by illuminated triangles (or thumb pieces). The central text panel is framed by several borders, including an outermost border which contains further verses in Persian individually cut out and pasted into the rectangular panels. The entirety of the composition is contained on a beige sheet of paper painted with gold flowers and backed by cardboard. This calligraphic fragment includes verses composed by Shaykh Baha'i, a Persian mystical poet of the 11th century. The poem describes the many ways in which to express one's love of God: Script: nasta'liq 1-85-154.73a