A LOOSE ILLUSTRATED FOLIO OF NIZAMI (D.1209)'S ISKANDAR NAMA
Shiraz school, Safavid Iran, ca. 1520

A LOOSE ILLUSTRATED FOLIO OF NIZAMI (D.1209)'S ISKANDAR NAMA
Shiraz school, Safavid Iran, ca. 1520

Persian manuscript on paper, the verso with four parallel text columns at the top, each in-filled with 7ll. of black ink nasta'liq script, accompanied by an illustration below in opaque pigments heightened with silver and gold, depicting Iskandar watching a group of four sirens bathing and playing in the water, the middle ground embellished with a large blossoming tree, the recto with a longer text panel with the same four parallel columns, each in-filled with 21ll. of black ink nasta'liq script, the text referring to section 35 of Nizami's Iskandar Namah, Alexander's return passage to India, set within concentric polychrome rules, marked with a purple library stamp at the end of the page, mounted on a white cardboard frame, the folio 25.5cm x 14.5cm, 45.5cm x 35.5cm including the mount.

Our illustrated folio shows striking similarities in terms of pictorial style, text format, and content to three illustrations from a dispersed Khamsa of Nizami, also attributed to the Shiraz School and dated ca. 1520, successfully sold at Christie's London earlier this year, 27 April 2023, lot 29. Another folio from the same Khamsa manuscript as the three paintings was sold in the same Rooms approximately a year ago, 27 October 2022, lot 29. For a complete Khamsa manuscript, dated to 940 AH (1533 AD) with 22 illustrations painted in an analogous style, please see Christie's London, 26 April 2005, lot 115.

Dimensions: the folio 25.5cm x 14.5cm, 45.5cm x 35.5cm including the mount