Gulistan of Sa‘di

Name: Gulistan of Sa‘di
Author: Saʻdī

İsim	Gulistan of Sa‘di
Yazar	Saʻdī
Konu	Persian poetry
Tür	Belge
Dil	Farsça
Dijital	Evet
Yazma	Evet
Sayfa Sayısı	273
Fiziksel Boyutlar	128 folios Leaf height: 318 mm, width: 203 mm.
Kütüphane:	Cambridge Dijital Kütüphanesi
Kayıt Numarası	MS-RAS-00258
Lokasyon	Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland — RAS Persian 258
Tarih	Copied in 990 Hijra (26th January 1582 - 24th January 1583)-1583-1582
Notlar	One of the finest illustrated manuscripts contained within the collections of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland is the Gulistan (Rose Garden) composed by the renowned Persian poet Sa‘di (1203-1292). It is noted not only for its exquisite paintings of birds and animals which decorate the pages of the text but also for its colophon portrait which depicts the eminent scribe Muhammad Husayn al-Kashmiri known as Zarrin Qalam (Golden Pen) and the artist, Manohara as a youth, who later had a long and illustrious career at the court of Shah Jehan (1592-1666).The manuscript comprises 128 folios and measures 31.8 x 20.3 cm and was copied in 990 Hijra (26th January 1582 - 24th January 1583) in Fatehpur Sikri during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605). It entered the collections of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1841, bequeathed by Neil Benjamin Edmonstone (1797-1841) who was employed by the East India Company and was a member of the Supreme Council in Calcutta between 1812-17 and later became a director in 1820.The text, written in nasta’liq, is set in both horizontal and vertical panels with dividers separating the hemistichs. The pages have broad margins of blue paper which are decorated with scrolls and figures of animals and birds in gold. Attached to the recto of fol.1a is a Mughal drawing which must have been added at a later date, showing a bearded and turbaned teacher with a class of female students and attendants. The verso of the final folio and two additional folios have similar blue margins with Persian texts written in shikastah script. The third and fifth pages bear the signature of Murid Khan Tabataba’i (d.unknown) who was a noble at the court of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748) and a noted calligrapher.On the colophon page, the painter Manohara and the calligrapher Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri are depicted seated opposite one another and are identified by the text of two letters they are shown writing. The text of the letter in front of the calligrapher reads ‘God is great, picture of the likeness of Husayn Zarrin Qalam’ and the sheet of the young man in front of him contains the words ‘work of Manohar, son of Basavana’. Sellyer has described this as ‘one of the most widely reproduced Mughal paintings of Akbar’s reign’ and is one of only three self-portraits of sixteenth century Mughal painting1.It has been argued that the portrait may have been added some thirty years after the manuscript was written as it appears long before the next earliest example of a colophon portrait (1596-7) and it follows the model of the 1595 British Library Khamsa of Nizami ( British Library, Or.12208) where the calligrapher and painter of the manuscript are depicted together2. However, it is dubious that the artist Manohara would have chosen to represent himself as a youth if he had added the painting to the manuscript some thirty years later. It is also considered unlikely that this was the work of Manohara, as suggested by the inscription, as he would have only been a boy of thirteen or fifteen years old at the time the manuscript was copied.Sellyer suggests that the painting was most probably the product of a collaborative effort on the part of Basavana, Manohara’s father and his young son and that Basavana used this opportunity to promote the work of Manohara by copying both their names on the page in front of him3. As Sellyer demonstrates, the fine painting of the figures of Muhammad Husayn al-Kashmiri and Manohara should be attributed to Basavana, ‘one of the foremost masters of the imperial atelier’ along with several of the charming animal scenes. Manohara was, no doubt, responsible for the paintings of colourful birds which fly over the pages4. However, the placement of Manohara’s name on the folio in front of the young man in the colophon portrait, suggesting that this was his own self-portrait, marked the beginning of his career, establishing a reputation which ultimately eclipsed that of his father.1 J.Sellyer, ‘The Colophon Portrait of the Royal Asiatic Society Gulistan of Sa‘di’, Artibus Asiae, Vol.LXVIII, No.2, 2008, p.333.2 Ibid, p.334; see D. Barrett and B. Gray. Painting of India, Geneva, 1963, p.82 who first proposed this argument.3 J. Sellyer, op.cit., 2008.4 Ibid., p.334.
Eklentiler	The third and fifth pages bear the signature of Murid Khan Tabataba’i (d.unknown) who was a noble at the court of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748) and a noted calligrapher.
Alternatif Başlık(lar)	Rose Garden
İlişkili Ad(lar)	Murid Khan Tabataba’i; Manohara
Cilt	English green morocco binding with tooled decoration.
Süsleme	3r Mughal drawing showing a bearded and turbaned teacher with a class of female students and attendants128r The painter Manohara and the calligrapher Muhammad Husayn KashmiriBroad margins of blue paper which are decorated with scrolls and figures of animals and birds in gold
Bağışçı(lar)	Edmonstone, Neil Benjamin (1797-1841)
Format	Codex
Mizanpaj	Text set in both horizontal and vertical panels with dividers separating the hemistichs. The pages have broad margins of blue paper which are decorated with scrolls and figures of animals and birds in gold.
Materyal	Blue paper which is decorated with scrolls and figures of animals and birds in gold.
Menşei Yeri	Fatehpur Sikri
Köken (Provenance)	Bequeathed to the Royal Asiatic Society in 1841 by Neil Benjamin Edmonstone (1797-1841)
Müstensih(ler)	Muhammad Husayn al-Kashmiri
Yazı Tipi	Main text in nasta’liq, with the verso of the final folio and two additional folios in shikastah
Yüzyıl 1	1500s C.E.
Oluşturma Tarihi (Bağlantı Türü)	keyword search
Tarih Aralığı	[1582 TO 1583]
Oluşturma Türü	creation
Yıl (Bitiş)	1583
Yıl (Başlangıç)	1582
Görüntü Hakları (Görüntüleme)	Zooming image © Royal Asiatic Society, All rights reserved.
Görüntü Hakları (İndirme)	Images made available for download are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Dil Kodu 1	per
Dil 1	Persian
Metadata Hakları	This metadata is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Küçük Resim Yönü	portrait
Filigran Beyanı	Royal Asiatic Society (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Kaynağa git Cambridge Dijital Kütüphanesi Cambridge Digital Library

Aramaya Dön

Cambridge Dijital Kütüphanesi

Kaynağa git

Gulistan of Sa‘di

Yazar Saʻdī

Konu Persian poetry

Tür Belge

Dil Farsça

Dijital Evet

Yazma Evet

Sayfa Sayısı 273

Fiziksel Boyutlar 128 folios Leaf height: 318 mm, width: 203 mm.

Kütüphane Cambridge Dijital Kütüphanesi

Kayıt Numarası MS-RAS-00258

Lokasyon Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland — RAS Persian 258

Tarih Copied in 990 Hijra (26th January 1582 - 24th January 1583)-1583-1582

Notlar One of the finest illustrated manuscripts contained within the collections of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland is the Gulistan (Rose Garden) composed by the renowned Persian poet Sa‘di (1203-1292). It is noted not only for its exquisite paintings of birds and animals which decorate the pages of the text but also for its colophon portrait which depicts the eminent scribe Muhammad Husayn al-Kashmiri known as Zarrin Qalam (Golden Pen) and the artist, Manohara as a youth, who later had a long and illustrious career at the court of Shah Jehan (1592-1666).The manuscript comprises 128 folios and measures 31.8 x 20.3 cm and was copied in 990 Hijra (26th January 1582 - 24th January 1583) in Fatehpur Sikri during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605). It entered the collections of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1841, bequeathed by Neil Benjamin Edmonstone (1797-1841) who was employed by the East India Company and was a member of the Supreme Council in Calcutta between 1812-17 and later became a director in 1820.The text, written in nasta’liq, is set in both horizontal and vertical panels with dividers separating the hemistichs. The pages have broad margins of blue paper which are decorated with scrolls and figures of animals and birds in gold. Attached to the recto of fol.1a is a Mughal drawing which must have been added at a later date, showing a bearded and turbaned teacher with a class of female students and attendants. The verso of the final folio and two additional folios have similar blue margins with Persian texts written in shikastah script. The third and fifth pages bear the signature of Murid Khan Tabataba’i (d.unknown) who was a noble at the court of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748) and a noted calligrapher.On the colophon page, the painter Manohara and the calligrapher Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri are depicted seated opposite one another and are identified by the text of two letters they are shown writing. The text of the letter in front of the calligrapher reads ‘God is great, picture of the likeness of Husayn Zarrin Qalam’ and the sheet of the young man in front of him contains the words ‘work of Manohar, son of Basavana’. Sellyer has described this as ‘one of the most widely reproduced Mughal paintings of Akbar’s reign’ and is one of only three self-portraits of sixteenth century Mughal painting1.It has been argued that the portrait may have been added some thirty years after the manuscript was written as it appears long before the next earliest example of a colophon portrait (1596-7) and it follows the model of the 1595 British Library Khamsa of Nizami ( British Library, Or.12208) where the calligrapher and painter of the manuscript are depicted together2. However, it is dubious that the artist Manohara would have chosen to represent himself as a youth if he had added the painting to the manuscript some thirty years later. It is also considered unlikely that this was the work of Manohara, as suggested by the inscription, as he would have only been a boy of thirteen or fifteen years old at the time the manuscript was copied.Sellyer suggests that the painting was most probably the product of a collaborative effort on the part of Basavana, Manohara’s father and his young son and that Basavana used this opportunity to promote the work of Manohara by copying both their names on the page in front of him3. As Sellyer demonstrates, the fine painting of the figures of Muhammad Husayn al-Kashmiri and Manohara should be attributed to Basavana, ‘one of the foremost masters of the imperial atelier’ along with several of the charming animal scenes. Manohara was, no doubt, responsible for the paintings of colourful birds which fly over the pages4. However, the placement of Manohara’s name on the folio in front of the young man in the colophon portrait, suggesting that this was his own self-portrait, marked the beginning of his career, establishing a reputation which ultimately eclipsed that of his father.1 J.Sellyer, ‘The Colophon Portrait of the Royal Asiatic Society Gulistan of Sa‘di’, Artibus Asiae, Vol.LXVIII, No.2, 2008, p.333.2 Ibid, p.334; see D. Barrett and B. Gray. Painting of India, Geneva, 1963, p.82 who first proposed this argument.3 J. Sellyer, op.cit., 2008.4 Ibid., p.334.

Eklentiler The third and fifth pages bear the signature of Murid Khan Tabataba’i (d.unknown) who was a noble at the court of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748) and a noted calligrapher.

Alternatif Başlık(lar) Rose Garden

İlişkili Ad(lar) Murid Khan Tabataba’i; Manohara

Cilt English green morocco binding with tooled decoration.

Süsleme 3r Mughal drawing showing a bearded and turbaned teacher with a class of female students and attendants128r The painter Manohara and the calligrapher Muhammad Husayn KashmiriBroad margins of blue paper which are decorated with scrolls and figures of animals and birds in gold

Bağışçı(lar) Edmonstone, Neil Benjamin (1797-1841)

Format Codex

Mizanpaj Text set in both horizontal and vertical panels with dividers separating the hemistichs. The pages have broad margins of blue paper which are decorated with scrolls and figures of animals and birds in gold.

Materyal Blue paper which is decorated with scrolls and figures of animals and birds in gold.

Menşei Yeri Fatehpur Sikri

Köken (Provenance) Bequeathed to the Royal Asiatic Society in 1841 by Neil Benjamin Edmonstone (1797-1841)

Müstensih(ler) Muhammad Husayn al-Kashmiri

Yazı Tipi Main text in nasta’liq, with the verso of the final folio and two additional folios in shikastah

Yüzyıl 1 1500s C.E.

Oluşturma Tarihi (Bağlantı Türü) keyword search

Tarih Aralığı [1582 TO 1583]

Oluşturma Türü creation

Yıl (Bitiş) 1583

Yıl (Başlangıç) 1582

Görüntü Hakları (İndirme) Images made available for download are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Dil Kodu 1 per

Dil 1 Persian

Metadata Hakları This metadata is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Küçük Resim Yönü portrait

Filigran Beyanı Royal Asiatic Society (CC BY-NC 4.0)