THREE LARGE MURAQQA' ALBUM PAGES WITH SHIKASTEH NASTA’LIQ CALLIGRAPHY
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Qajar Iran, 19th century

Comprising three album pages of Persian manuscripts on paper, including a double album page in ‘dancing’ format, the black ink shikasteh nasta’liq script presenting poetry from Jami set in cloudbands against a burnished gold ground, within illuminated narrow pink, polychrome-painted white, and broad black and gold borders with floral clusters and red and blue rules, laid on brushed paper on board, each text panel 10.2cm x 10.2cm, each folio 42.2cm x 30cm; a single album page of Persian poetry set in cloudbands against a burnished gold ground, within concentric polychrome-painted and gilt decorative borders with fine illumination, the outer wide border with scrolling lotus flowers and serrated leaves, in a brown mount, inscribed ‘written for the sake of an Armenian village (?)’, the text panel 8.3cm x 3.8cm, the folio 29.8cm x 19cm, 39.8cm x 29cm including the mount; and another single album page of shikasteh calligraphy, presenting an elaborate arrangement of ‘dancing’ lines in a starburst pattern, set within cloudbands against a gold ground with polychrome floral trellis, featuring poetic quatrains by Hafez on lacquered cream paper, mounted on a re-purposed pink border enhanced with gilt and polychrome-painted scrolling lotuses and serrated foliage, laid on card, the text panel 28.8cm x 19.2cm, the folio 37cm x 23.8cm.