ONE ILLUSTRATION SIGNED SALIM AND THE OTHER MUQIM, PROBABLY BUKHARA, UZBEKISTAN, CIRCA 1670

Details

A SECTION FROM AN ILLUSTRATED SHAHNAMA
ONE ILLUSTRATION SIGNED SALIM AND THE OTHER MUQIM, PROBABLY BUKHARA, UZBEKISTAN, CIRCA 1670
From a Shahnama of Firdawsi, Persian manuscript on gold-sprinkled paper, comprising two quires each of 6ff. and with one illustration in opaque pigments heightened with gold, the first illustration depicting Iskandar slaying the dragon and the second depicting the death of Sohrab, each signed, each folio with 19 to 27ll. black nasta'liq written horizontally and on the diagonal arranged in four columns with gold intercolumnar rules, illustrations within the text panel, set within gold, blue and black rules, headings in red nasta'liq, the plain margins with later pencil pagination and marginal annotations, catchwords
Painting 5 ½ x 3 7/8in. (14 x 9.8cm.); text panel 7 1/8 x 4 1/8in. (18.2 x 10.5cm.); folio 9 7/8 x 6 ¼in. (25.2 x 16.3cm.)

Provenance

Octave Homberg, Paris, by 1931

Literature

Collection Octave Homberg, June 1931, no.93, p.49

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The Shahnama from which these paintings come was with Octave Homberg in Paris. When published in 1931, the complete manuscript was still assembled, and had 85 miniatures within it, some signed by Muhammad Muqim and Muhammad Salim. It was catalogued as Bukhara, 1670. A related Khamsa of Nizami is in the Chester Beatty Museum (Per 276.205), copied on 15 Dhu'l Hijja AH 1081 / 25 April 1671 AD. That was stylistically very similar and also had paintings attributed to Muhammad Muqim.

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