Nizami's Quintet
Type:
Illuminated manuscripts
Date:
1431–32
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Afghanistan
Medium:
Paper
Dimensions:
31.3 × 22.9 cm
Description:
These leaves are from a fifteenth-century copy of the Khamseh (Quintet) of the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami (1141–1209). In addition to epic poems and love stories, its five parts include the life story of the Sasanian hero Bahram Gur and a book about Alexander the Great. This copy was commissioned by the Timurid prince Baysunghur. On the narrative page reproduced here, the young characters of Layla and Qays (later Majnun, or "Madman") meet for the first time in a lavishly ornamented mosque or madrasa. Decorative framing bands and panels with cartouches surround the first two pages of the accompanying text and include extensive use of gold and lapis lazuli, which was abundant in Afghanistan. The calligrapher was Ja'far Baisunghuri (fl. 1412–31), the head of the royal workshop at the Timurid capital of Herat.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
10
Repository and Online Resources:
• Read more about these pages on the website of the Metropolitan Museum.
• Read more about the Khamseh of Nizami in the Metropolitan Museum's book, Mirror of the Invisible World.
• Visit the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies' website for Islamic Manuscript Basics.
