[Unknown] - Diwan - 1560

This is a fine bi-folio manuscript of Sufi Islamic poetry from the Divan, a collection of poems. The text is written in Persian in an elegant shikasteh script in black ink. This calligraphic style is closely related to Ta'liq and Nastaliq script. Shikasteh is attributed to the Herat region, an important centre for the arts and sciences, with a rich tradition of music, calligraphy and painting, astronomy, mathematics and philosophy.

A loose translation of the left folio is that God provides us with a fresh narrative offering protection and bringing back life from decayed bones. The right folio has a 'tippled in' golden tree decoration above the script, probably a slight later addition. The script itself loosely translates as God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, O respected ones of the sacred place, the letters of Bism are 19, which I have counted......Bism makes the bones alive again.....you seek mercy and abundant grace. In some Sufi and philosophical traditions, the first letter ("B" or ba') of Bism holds deep symbolic significance, often representing the "Point" or "Dot" (al-nuqtah) of divine essence from which all creation emanates.

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