Kitāb-i Shāhnāmah

Name: Kitāb-i Shāhnāmah
Author: Firdawsī, Firdawsi, ʻAbd al-Qādir Sāvajī al-Qazvīnī, fl. late 16th century?, Abd al-Qadir Sawji al-Qazwini

Title	Kitāb-i Shāhnāmah
Author	Firdawsī, Firdawsi, ʻAbd al-Qādir Sāvajī al-Qazvīnī, fl. late 16th century?, Abd al-Qadir Sawji al-Qazwini
Author Original	فردوسي عبد القادر ساوجى القزوينى
Publication Date:	1575
Publication Place	[India?] -
Subject	Epic poetry, Persian -- Early works to 1800, Manuscripts, Persian -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor
Type	Book
Language	Persian
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	Yes
Physical Dimensions	617 leaves : paper, ill. ; 335 x 210 (236 x 123) mm
Library:	University of Michigan Library
Library Asset ID	1194843284
Record ID	990068057350106381
Library Location	UM Ann Arbor Libraries, University Library
Date	Possibly between 1575-1625
Notes	Ms. codex., Title from colophon on p.1236., Incipit: "In the name of God, the life and wisdom of the best treasurer of thought will not pass away...", Explicit: "Anyone who has a hash and vote [and] religion after death, bless me", Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular, reads "The book of Shahnameh, written on the 7th of the month of Jumad al-Akhler, is finished, written by Faqir al-Haqeer Abdul-Qadir Sawji al-Qazvini, سنة Written [?]", Collation: ii, IV+1 (9), 6 V(69), III (75), V+1 (86), 4 V(126), II (130), 2 V(150), IV (158), 3 V(188), V-1 (197), 6 V(257), V-1 (266), 2 V(286), V-1 (295), 4 V(335), III+3 (344), 6 V(404), II (408), 3 V(438), V-1 (447), 7 V(517), IV (525), 9 V(615), I (617), ii ; chiefly quinions; middle of the quire marks in the form of middle of the quire marks in the form of oblique strokes in black ink, upper outer corner of the right-hand leaf, lower-outer corner of the left-hand leaf; catchwords present (though occasionally lost to trimming) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization., Layout: "Organized in 4 columns with 25 lines on each page" - from description of F. Abdullaeva., Script: Nastʻalīq ; compact, elegant Persianate hand in a medium line; serifless, with effect of words descending to baseline, elongation and contrasting thickness of horizontal strokes, pointing mainly in distinct dots., Decoration: "The manuscript has three ʻunwāns (double page illumination at the beginning of the most important chapters) and one sarlawḥ (initial illumination in the beginning of the book), and 14 miniatures in local Indian style. The text is therefore not very heavily illustrated, an average of one picture every 40 folios or so, though the distribution of paintings is rather irregular, the gaps ranging from 6 folios to 135, and as is common, with no illustrations in the 'historical' section of the poem, after the establishment of the Sāsānian dynasty under Ardashīr. Ten of the 14 paintings illustrate episodes occurring in the lifetime of the main hero, Rustam, and include several of the most frequently illustrated scenes" - from description of F. Abdullaeva (see p.30 in "An unknown Shāhnāma from Ann Arbor") ; as reported by F. Abdullaeva, Philippa Vaughan proposes for the paintings the "sub-Imperial" Mughal style of the first quarter of the 17th century with the influence of the palette of the Kashmīrī school, particularly the use of bright pink, orange and light green in combination; rubricated headings; written area and devisions within outlined by a gold frame defined by black fillets., Support: non-European (likely Indian) laid paper with roughly 9 laid lines per cm. (both horizontal and vertical orientation found in different leaves), somewhat indistinct, some curving, no regular chain lines plainly visible, medium cream in color, thin and crisp though sturdy, lightly burnished; minor breakthrough at frames in a few leaves., Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark brown leather; Type II binding (with flap, though now lost), probably two-piece binding (seam of overlapping flanges visible at spine); pastedowns and flyleaves in dark blue textured, coated paper (embossed with scrolling vegetal design); upper and lower covers carry stamped (orange-red recessed onlays) and gold-painted central lozenge (filled with vegetal composition, compare Déroche class. OSd), pendants and corner pieces with gold-painted accents and borders with outermost guilloché roll; edges of text block gold-painted with floral designs; sewn in red thread, two stations; worked chevron endbands in yellow and red; overall in fair condition with loss of flap and minor abrasion, lifting and losses of leather, delamination of boards, staining, etc. ; housed in box for protection., Former shelfmark: "153 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" in pencil on verso of front flyleaf., Origin: As appears in colophon on p.1236, copied by ʻAbd al-Qādir Sāvajī al-Qazvīnī with transcription completed 7 Jumādá II in an unspecified year. F. Abdullaeva, Oleg Akimushkin, and Philippa Vaughan refer the manuscript's production to the later 16th or early 17th century. "As for the place of origin, the scribe was evidently of Iranian background and training, even if living in India, while the paintings are clearly to be distinguished as Indian. It seems that the calligrapher and painter (there were at least two of them) did not work in the same period" - from description of F. Abdullaeva., Effaced seal impressions (large circular and oval) and statements on 'title page' (p.3); finger tabs in mauve silk (partially lost) mark various sections; collation statement on back flyleaf (p.1237) "number of papers 632"; fairly clean copy., Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 280
Sample Text	Splendid copy of the renowned epic by Firdawsī (d.1020), illustrated with 14 miniatures. Detailed description of the manuscript and miniatures by Firuza I. Abdullaeva ("An unknown Shāhnāma from Ann Arbor," published in Manuscripta Orientalia, vol.11, no.1, March 2005, pp.28-60).
Katkıda Bulunanlar	ʻAbd al-Qādir Sāvajī al-Qazvīnī, fl. late 16th century?, scribe.
Son Dizinleme Tarihi	20251210
Biçim	Book, Manuscript, Available Online
Koleksiyonda	Abdul Hamid Collection.
Referanslar	Abdullaeva, F. "An unknown Shāhnāma from Ann Arbor," Manuscripta Orientalia, 11, no. i (2005), pp. 28-60., Abdullaeva, F. "Divine, Human and Demonic: Iconographic Flexibility in the Depiction of Rustam and Ashkabus", In Shahnama Studies I, ed. Ch. Melville, Pembroke Papers 5, Cambridge, 2006, pp. 203-219., Cat. Pers. MSS. Brit. Mus., p. 533 ff.
Elde Ediliş	Acquired by purchase (funds donated by Horace Rackham).

View in source University of Michigan Library

University of Michigan Library

Kitāb-i Shāhnāmah

Author Firdawsī, Firdawsi, ʻAbd al-Qādir Sāvajī al-Qazvīnī, fl. late 16th century?, Abd al-Qadir Sawji al-Qazwini

Author Original فردوسي عبد القادر ساوجى القزوينى

Publication Date 1575

Publication Place [India?] -

Subject Epic poetry, Persian -- Early works to 1800, Manuscripts, Persian -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor

Type Book

Language Persian

Digital Yes

Manuscript Yes

Physical Dimensions 617 leaves : paper, ill. ; 335 x 210 (236 x 123) mm

Library University of Michigan Library

Library Asset ID 1194843284

Record ID 990068057350106381

Library Location UM Ann Arbor Libraries, University Library

Date Possibly between 1575-1625

Notes Ms. codex., Title from colophon on p.1236., Incipit: "In the name of God, the life and wisdom of the best treasurer of thought will not pass away...", Explicit: "Anyone who has a hash and vote [and] religion after death, bless me", Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular, reads "The book of Shahnameh, written on the 7th of the month of Jumad al-Akhler, is finished, written by Faqir al-Haqeer Abdul-Qadir Sawji al-Qazvini, سنة Written [?]", Collation: ii, IV+1 (9), 6 V(69), III (75), V+1 (86), 4 V(126), II (130), 2 V(150), IV (158), 3 V(188), V-1 (197), 6 V(257), V-1 (266), 2 V(286), V-1 (295), 4 V(335), III+3 (344), 6 V(404), II (408), 3 V(438), V-1 (447), 7 V(517), IV (525), 9 V(615), I (617), ii ; chiefly quinions; middle of the quire marks in the form of middle of the quire marks in the form of oblique strokes in black ink, upper outer corner of the right-hand leaf, lower-outer corner of the left-hand leaf; catchwords present (though occasionally lost to trimming) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization., Layout: "Organized in 4 columns with 25 lines on each page" - from description of F. Abdullaeva., Script: Nastʻalīq ; compact, elegant Persianate hand in a medium line; serifless, with effect of words descending to baseline, elongation and contrasting thickness of horizontal strokes, pointing mainly in distinct dots., Decoration: "The manuscript has three ʻunwāns (double page illumination at the beginning of the most important chapters) and one sarlawḥ (initial illumination in the beginning of the book), and 14 miniatures in local Indian style. The text is therefore not very heavily illustrated, an average of one picture every 40 folios or so, though the distribution of paintings is rather irregular, the gaps ranging from 6 folios to 135, and as is common, with no illustrations in the 'historical' section of the poem, after the establishment of the Sāsānian dynasty under Ardashīr. Ten of the 14 paintings illustrate episodes occurring in the lifetime of the main hero, Rustam, and include several of the most frequently illustrated scenes" - from description of F. Abdullaeva (see p.30 in "An unknown Shāhnāma from Ann Arbor") ; as reported by F. Abdullaeva, Philippa Vaughan proposes for the paintings the "sub-Imperial" Mughal style of the first quarter of the 17th century with the influence of the palette of the Kashmīrī school, particularly the use of bright pink, orange and light green in combination; rubricated headings; written area and devisions within outlined by a gold frame defined by black fillets., Support: non-European (likely Indian) laid paper with roughly 9 laid lines per cm. (both horizontal and vertical orientation found in different leaves), somewhat indistinct, some curving, no regular chain lines plainly visible, medium cream in color, thin and crisp though sturdy, lightly burnished; minor breakthrough at frames in a few leaves., Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark brown leather; Type II binding (with flap, though now lost), probably two-piece binding (seam of overlapping flanges visible at spine); pastedowns and flyleaves in dark blue textured, coated paper (embossed with scrolling vegetal design); upper and lower covers carry stamped (orange-red recessed onlays) and gold-painted central lozenge (filled with vegetal composition, compare Déroche class. OSd), pendants and corner pieces with gold-painted accents and borders with outermost guilloché roll; edges of text block gold-painted with floral designs; sewn in red thread, two stations; worked chevron endbands in yellow and red; overall in fair condition with loss of flap and minor abrasion, lifting and losses of leather, delamination of boards, staining, etc. ; housed in box for protection., Former shelfmark: "153 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" in pencil on verso of front flyleaf., Origin: As appears in colophon on p.1236, copied by ʻAbd al-Qādir Sāvajī al-Qazvīnī with transcription completed 7 Jumādá II in an unspecified year. F. Abdullaeva, Oleg Akimushkin, and Philippa Vaughan refer the manuscript's production to the later 16th or early 17th century. "As for the place of origin, the scribe was evidently of Iranian background and training, even if living in India, while the paintings are clearly to be distinguished as Indian. It seems that the calligrapher and painter (there were at least two of them) did not work in the same period" - from description of F. Abdullaeva., Effaced seal impressions (large circular and oval) and statements on 'title page' (p.3); finger tabs in mauve silk (partially lost) mark various sections; collation statement on back flyleaf (p.1237) "number of papers 632"; fairly clean copy., Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 280

Sample Text Splendid copy of the renowned epic by Firdawsī (d.1020), illustrated with 14 miniatures. Detailed description of the manuscript and miniatures by Firuza I. Abdullaeva ("An unknown Shāhnāma from Ann Arbor," published in Manuscripta Orientalia, vol.11, no.1, March 2005, pp.28-60).

Katkıda Bulunanlar ʻAbd al-Qādir Sāvajī al-Qazvīnī, fl. late 16th century?, scribe.

Son Dizinleme Tarihi 20251210

Biçim Book, Manuscript, Available Online

Koleksiyonda Abdul Hamid Collection.

Referanslar Abdullaeva, F. "An unknown Shāhnāma from Ann Arbor," Manuscripta Orientalia, 11, no. i (2005), pp. 28-60., Abdullaeva, F. "Divine, Human and Demonic: Iconographic Flexibility in the Depiction of Rustam and Ashkabus", In Shahnama Studies I, ed. Ch. Melville, Pembroke Papers 5, Cambridge, 2006, pp. 203-219., Cat. Pers. MSS. Brit. Mus., p. 533 ff.

Elde Ediliş Acquired by purchase (funds donated by Horace Rackham).