Unknown - Framed illuminated poetic manuscript leaf - 1780

A framed decorative illuminated folio from a Persian poetic manuscript dated around 1780. It is written in nasta'liq script set within decorative cloud shaped borders with an elaborate gilt floral border. It contains two distinct columns separated by a linear floral design, with a header and footer in red script.

The text is a classical Persian poem, difficult to translate literally while retaining poetic nuance. However, a general representation of the wording which seems to be a missive on the pain of love is:

Right column: My sight and my heart are a river of sorrow, filled with the pain of separation. My heart is a house of sadness, my life a tale of woe. My tears are a flood, my sighs a storm. My soul is in a bird cage, my body a prison.

Left column: My heart is a stranger to this world, my soul a captive of love. My tears are a river, my sighs a mountain of fire. My heart is a house of sadness, my life a tale of woe.

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