COPIED BY 'ALIREZA AL-'ABBASI, SAFAVID IRAN, CIRCA 1600

Details

BUSIRI: QASIDEH BURDA
COPIED BY 'ALIREZA AL-'ABBASI, SAFAVID IRAN, CIRCA 1600
A poem in praise of the Prophet and prayer, Persian manuscript on buff paper, 24ll. each with 7ll. of small black naskh and large thuluth arranged in five horizontal panels outlined in gold, the central one of gold thuluth, black diacritics, margins of turquoise and gold with black rule, the colophon with signature of 'Alireza al-'Abbasi, possibly added later, the opening page with gold and polychrome illumination, one further page of similar illumination in the middle of the text indicating the beginning of the prayer reported by the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, unsigned and undated but written in the same format, owners' seal impressions on the front page, one dated 1145 (1732/3 AD), brown leather morocco binding with tooled floral medallion and cornerpieces, doublures with central blue and gold medallion, areas of waterstaining, damages to the binding
Folio 9 1/8 x 6 1/8in. (24.1 x 15cm.); Text 5¾ x 3 3/8in. (14.6 x 8.6cm.)

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Please note that the lots of Iranian origin are subject to U.S. trade restrictions which currently prohibit the import into the United States. Similar restrictions may apply in other countries.

Lot Essay

'Alireza al-'Abbasi was a well known calligrapher of the Safavid period. Originally from Tabriz, he moved to Qazvin and worked in the library of Farhad Khah until Shah 'Abbas I asked Farhad Khan to send him to Isfahan, whereupon he became the King's scribe and companion and was put in charge of the Royal Library. He is reported as being respected by the King to the extent that the King would hold a gold candlestick whilst 'Alireza was writing. He wrote in all styles, and his most outstanding work can be seen in the inscriptions of the entrances to the 'Ali Qapu Palace, Shaykh Lutfullah and the Shah Mosques in Isfahan (all in thuluth) and the gold panel above the tomb of Imam Reza in Mashhad (in nasta'liq). His other recorded works include a small treatise and calligraphic pages in nasta'liq dated between 1000 and 1022 (1591/2-1613/4 AD).

This is the second recorded text by him, and the first written in naskh (Mehdi Bayani Ahval va Asar-e Khosh-Nevisan, Vol. II, Tehran, 1346 sh., pp. 456-61 and Vol. IV, 1358, p. 109).

More from Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds

View All