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Lot Essay
The colophon states that the manuscript was completed during the reign of Mughith al-Din by Nasir al-Katib al-Sultani in Muharram 821. Mughith al-Din is the name of Ibrahim Sultan son of Shahrukh (812-838/1409-35). Mughith al-Din was also a calligrapher and executed inscriptions on two madrassas in Shiraz and at least five Qur'ans.
Shah Ni'matullah Vali's fame rests on his reputation as a Sufi saint and mystic, rather than for his poetry. He was the author of numerous works in Arabic and Persian, and composed ghazals, qasida and masnavi as well as a large number of Sufi tracts. He was the founder of the Ni'matullahi order of dervishes which became one of the most influential orders in Iran.
This manuscript is important for three things; its association with Ibrahim Sultan, the fact that it was written during the author's lifetime, and as an early example of nasta'liq, the script which was to become so important in the copying of poetical works in the 15th and 16th centuries. Not much is known about the scribe. His other recorded works are a copy of Tuhfat al-ahrar of Jami and a Masnavi and Diwan-i Shams of Jalal al-Din Rumi in the Gulistan Palace Library in Tehran dated 833/1429-30. There he signs himself simply Nasser al-Katib. He is mentioned as one of the oldest nasta'liq scribes.
Bayani, M.: Ahval va athar-e khosh nevisan, vol. III, Tehran, 1348, sh. p. 936
Shah Ni'matullah Vali's fame rests on his reputation as a Sufi saint and mystic, rather than for his poetry. He was the author of numerous works in Arabic and Persian, and composed ghazals, qasida and masnavi as well as a large number of Sufi tracts. He was the founder of the Ni'matullahi order of dervishes which became one of the most influential orders in Iran.
This manuscript is important for three things; its association with Ibrahim Sultan, the fact that it was written during the author's lifetime, and as an early example of nasta'liq, the script which was to become so important in the copying of poetical works in the 15th and 16th centuries. Not much is known about the scribe. His other recorded works are a copy of Tuhfat al-ahrar of Jami and a Masnavi and Diwan-i Shams of Jalal al-Din Rumi in the Gulistan Palace Library in Tehran dated 833/1429-30. There he signs himself simply Nasser al-Katib. He is mentioned as one of the oldest nasta'liq scribes.
Bayani, M.: Ahval va athar-e khosh nevisan, vol. III, Tehran, 1348, sh. p. 936