Lot Essay
While this text has frequently inspired miniatures of great originality and high artistic value, it is rare to find such a profusely illustrated example. This manuscript contains more than four hundred illustrations; some of these are only a few centimeters across, some are present only as a pencil outline, while others are fully worked-up full page paintings which incorporate panels of text. In a few places a space has been left for an illustration, but left empty.
The miniatures appear to be the work of three artists. The most prolific within the work is the painter responsible for almost all the smaller painting of various flora and fauna, each within its own panel, together with some of the larger paintings. His style is typified by quick brush-strokes and various sketchily drawn clumps of flowers in the background. His work is similar to that in a Shahnameh in the John Rylands Library, Manchester (Robinson, B.W.: Persian Paintings in the John Rylands Library, London, 1980, pp.330-345).
The second artist is certainly of better quality and executed works with considerable originality. One of his most unusual scenes within the manuscript is a full-page townscape; a feature certainly not normally illustrated in this work. He was also responsible for a number of the more lively smaller panels such as the bear illustrated above. His paintings have great vigour, and he is fond of angular mountainous skylines; he obviously enjoys painting some of the subjects.
The third artist, who was only responsible for a handful of paintings in this work is a painter of very good quality. His observation of facial features on his human subjects shows a man with an interest in portraiture; each figure is different. Within his paintings there is also a great observation of details; a wonderful scene of a snow-capped mountain in its shadow an iced-over lake which is beautifully observed.
The miniatures appear to be the work of three artists. The most prolific within the work is the painter responsible for almost all the smaller painting of various flora and fauna, each within its own panel, together with some of the larger paintings. His style is typified by quick brush-strokes and various sketchily drawn clumps of flowers in the background. His work is similar to that in a Shahnameh in the John Rylands Library, Manchester (Robinson, B.W.: Persian Paintings in the John Rylands Library, London, 1980, pp.330-345).
The second artist is certainly of better quality and executed works with considerable originality. One of his most unusual scenes within the manuscript is a full-page townscape; a feature certainly not normally illustrated in this work. He was also responsible for a number of the more lively smaller panels such as the bear illustrated above. His paintings have great vigour, and he is fond of angular mountainous skylines; he obviously enjoys painting some of the subjects.
The third artist, who was only responsible for a handful of paintings in this work is a painter of very good quality. His observation of facial features on his human subjects shows a man with an interest in portraiture; each figure is different. Within his paintings there is also a great observation of details; a wonderful scene of a snow-capped mountain in its shadow an iced-over lake which is beautifully observed.