.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The borders of this folio come from a dispersed manuscript of poetry. They were once thought to be produced in the Qazvin style, circa 1565-85, but the appearance of a folio from the same series that sold in these Rooms, 26 April 2012, lot 30, was dated within the margins to AH 929/1522-3 AD. That folio was also signed by Muhammad Amin. The inner margins of other folios, sold in these Rooms, 28 October 2021, lot 27, recorded the place of production as Herat and the patron as Shah Duraq Ustajlu. It is most probable that this patron was a high-ranking noble among the Ustajlu tribe, part of the Qizlbash coalition who were united by their support of Safavid Shi’a Islam. The Ustajlu tribe helped Isma’il I in his conquest of the Aqqoyunlu and rise to power, including his conquest of Herat in 1509 AD.
The most well-known folios from the series which all have borders with illuminated figural and animal cartouches are in the Chester Beatty Library. These comprise three folios from the Subhat al-Ahrar of Jami’ (cat.210) and five folios from a Salaman wa Absal by the same author (cat.209) (M. Minovi, B.W.Robinson et.al, The Chester Beatty Library, A Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts and Miniatures, Dublin, 1960, cat.209 and 210). Other folios are in the Vever collection, held in the Cleveland Museum of Art (Glenn D. Lowry and Milo C. Beach, An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection, Washington, 1990, nos.261-264, p.232). Two folios from the manuscript sold in these Rooms 27 October 2022, lot 43.