A Safavid poetic compilation in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Name: A Safavid poetic compilation in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Author: Taner, Melis

İsim	A Safavid poetic compilation in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Yazar	Taner, Melis
Basım Tarihi:	2024-10
Basım Yeri	- Ege Üniversitesi
Konu	Farhad and Shirin, Mahmud and Ayaz, Safavid period, Codicology, Mathnawi
Tür	Süreli Yayın
Dil	İngilizce
Dijital	Evet
Yazma	Hayır
Kütüphane:	Özyeğin Üniversitesi
Demirbaş Numarası	1300-5707
Kayıt Numarası	5021dddd-9200-4626-8da3-e088227db561
Lokasyon	Architecture
Tarih	2024-10
Örnek Metin	This article is about a Safavid-period illustrated compilation in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Perzsa Qu. 02). It consists of three mathnawis: Wahshi Bafqi's Farhad and Shirin, Anisi Shamlu's Mahmud and Ayaz, and Zulali Khwansari's Mahmud and Ayaz. The article first briefly introduces the contents of the manuscript, and next discusses the mathnawis in connection with text-image relationships. These three mathnawis were composed in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The fact that this illustrated manuscript was prepared not long after the composition of these three mathnawis suggests that they may have held special importance to the patron. Zulali's Mahmud and Ayaz is the mathnawi that includes the greatest number of paintings in this manuscript--nine out of a total of ten paintings--, with only one painting in Anisi's mathnawi of the same name. Vahshi's Farhad and Shirin does not include any paintings, at least presently. Because the manuscript is in disorder and is lacking several folios, it is likely that this mathnawi also included paintings at one point in the manuscript's life. The paintings in this manuscript show a close connection to the text, both to its lyrical and narrative content. Most of the paintings that belong to Zulali's mathnawi show scenes in a garden. The rate of illustration is very frequent in this case, with a painting almost on every other page from folio 30a through 40a. This quick rate of illustration adds a certain level of movement to the mathnawi, breaking the pace of reading, allowing the viewer to focus on the lyrical content of the poetry. While the garden scenes look quite similar to one another, there are certain slight differences, such as in the reversal of roles of the saqi from Ayaz to the sultan, that show a close connection to the text. In addition to these garden scenes that are typically found in illustrated texts of lyrical poetry, this manuscript also includes paintings that are specific to Zulali's text, such as one showing Ayaz in a bath, or the poet himself in seclusion as he receives inspiration to compose this poem. This inspiration is very much connected to a dream of the famed poet Nizami, who himself makes an appearance in this manuscript in yet another garden scene. While these garden scenes may have been dismissed as typical paintings that denote the lyrical content of the work, which they indeed do, they also show a close relationship to the text. A holistic look at the manuscript suggests that this manuscript is a sub-royal production, datable to the first half of the seventeenth century, more specifically to the reign of Shah 'Abbas I. The style of the paintings and illumination are similar to the Isfahan school of this period. Additionally, the suggestive "portrait" of Shah 'Abbas represented as Mahmud would point to the reign of this ruler as the approximate time of preparation of this manuscript.
DOI	10.29135/std.1403658
Cilt	33

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A Safavid poetic compilation in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Yazar Taner, Melis

Basım Tarihi 2024-10

Basım Yeri - Ege Üniversitesi

Konu Farhad and Shirin, Mahmud and Ayaz, Safavid period, Codicology, Mathnawi

Tür Süreli Yayın

Dil İngilizce

Dijital Evet

Yazma Hayır

Kütüphane Özyeğin Üniversitesi

Demirbaş Numarası 1300-5707

Kayıt Numarası 5021dddd-9200-4626-8da3-e088227db561

Lokasyon Architecture

Tarih 2024-10

Örnek Metin This article is about a Safavid-period illustrated compilation in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Perzsa Qu. 02). It consists of three mathnawis: Wahshi Bafqi's Farhad and Shirin, Anisi Shamlu's Mahmud and Ayaz, and Zulali Khwansari's Mahmud and Ayaz. The article first briefly introduces the contents of the manuscript, and next discusses the mathnawis in connection with text-image relationships. These three mathnawis were composed in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The fact that this illustrated manuscript was prepared not long after the composition of these three mathnawis suggests that they may have held special importance to the patron. Zulali's Mahmud and Ayaz is the mathnawi that includes the greatest number of paintings in this manuscript--nine out of a total of ten paintings--, with only one painting in Anisi's mathnawi of the same name. Vahshi's Farhad and Shirin does not include any paintings, at least presently. Because the manuscript is in disorder and is lacking several folios, it is likely that this mathnawi also included paintings at one point in the manuscript's life. The paintings in this manuscript show a close connection to the text, both to its lyrical and narrative content. Most of the paintings that belong to Zulali's mathnawi show scenes in a garden. The rate of illustration is very frequent in this case, with a painting almost on every other page from folio 30a through 40a. This quick rate of illustration adds a certain level of movement to the mathnawi, breaking the pace of reading, allowing the viewer to focus on the lyrical content of the poetry. While the garden scenes look quite similar to one another, there are certain slight differences, such as in the reversal of roles of the saqi from Ayaz to the sultan, that show a close connection to the text. In addition to these garden scenes that are typically found in illustrated texts of lyrical poetry, this manuscript also includes paintings that are specific to Zulali's text, such as one showing Ayaz in a bath, or the poet himself in seclusion as he receives inspiration to compose this poem. This inspiration is very much connected to a dream of the famed poet Nizami, who himself makes an appearance in this manuscript in yet another garden scene. While these garden scenes may have been dismissed as typical paintings that denote the lyrical content of the work, which they indeed do, they also show a close relationship to the text. A holistic look at the manuscript suggests that this manuscript is a sub-royal production, datable to the first half of the seventeenth century, more specifically to the reign of Shah 'Abbas I. The style of the paintings and illumination are similar to the Isfahan school of this period. Additionally, the suggestive "portrait" of Shah 'Abbas represented as Mahmud would point to the reign of this ruler as the approximate time of preparation of this manuscript.

DOI 10.29135/std.1403658

Cilt 33