A wonderful illustrated manuscript page, copied in AD1600, from the Mathnawi by Jalal al-Din Rumi, a great Sufi Muslim poets. The Mathnawi (Arabic: مثنوي mathnawī) or masnavi (Persian: مثنوی Mas̲navī), is regarded as the greatest and most influential poetic work of muslim mysticism, taking Rumi 25 years to dictate, although the 6th and final book was never completed before he died. It was composed for the benefit of a group of Rumi’s disciples in the Sufi order better known as the whirling dervishes. The Mathnawi (or Masnavi as it is often referred to) is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines. It is poetic text derived from the Quran that teaches Sufis how to reach their goal of being truly in love with God. This exceptional folio, has 17 lines of script in nasta'liq (miniature form) black ink set, divided by gold clouds, and set within a highly decorative arabesque frame with gold cartouches on all sides. There is some damage to the central script and margin as shown in image 3c. Outside the central framing (3e), there is a further elaborate illuminated border in gold arabesque which goes round the three sides of the manuscript. There is further commentary on the margin (3f). As the paper on which this is written is thin, and has been repaired several times over the years. See image 3h taken against backlighting. However, if mounted and framed you would not see many of the repairs of this pleasing piece. Please note that shipping costs are not solely the cost of the postal delivery service itself. Included within the shipping price is the work undertaken to prepare the article, for photography, for uploading to Catawiki, for preparation and packaging the article securely and for transporting the article to the postal delivery agent for processing. Please consider when bidding on this lot that this artwork is shipped from the UK. Import duties will now have to be paid by the recipient to the Postal Service when the parcel arrives in your country. This will likely vary between 5% and 20% of the sale price depending on your country's Import Rate. This is a Tax collected on behalf of your Government and is not an additional delivery fee charged by me.