Nezami - Khamseh Manuscript Page - 1533

Beautifully scripted in a very clean and elegant nastaliq, this rare folio is from a damaged copy, produced in 1533, of a reproduction of Nizami Ganjavi’s epic poetic work the Khamsa (خمسه, 'Quintet or Quinary') or Panj Ganj (پنج گنج, 'Five Treasures'): Makhzan-ol-Asrâr (مخزن‌الاسرار, 'The Treasury or Storehouse of Mysteries'), 1163 (some date it 1176).

Khamsa (Quintet) is Nizami's most famous masterpiece, and, as suggested by the name, it contains a collection of five poems and c. 30,000 couplets. The five poems in the order in which they were composed are as follows: Makhzan al-Asrar (The Treasure House of Mysteries); Khosrow and Shirin; Layla and Majnun; Haft Peykar (Seven Beauties); and Eskandarnameh (also given as Iskandarnamah, The Book of Alexander). The intriguing storyline and the beautiful language of each poem (in particular Khosrow and Shirin, Layla and Majnun, and Haft Peykar) have provided Persian miniature painting with rich context and have turned Khamsa into one most frequently illustrated works of Persian literature along with Ferdowsi's Shahnameh.

Mostly script, the folio page is divided by gold columns, broken by two elaborate gold chapter headings, one at the top. of the folio, the other mid way down. The text is Persian script with illuminated borders and gold leaf accents. The content of this folio is likely a eulogy for the Imam Husain, featuring complex poetic poetic language. The general themes revolve around bravery, conflict, martyrdom and religious devotion. This is a fine example and would grace any collection.

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