SYRIA, OTTOMAN PROVINCES, BEFORE 1664 AD

Details

AL-MALIK WA SHIMAS (THE KING AND SHIMAS)
SYRIA, OTTOMAN PROVINCES, BEFORE 1664 AD
A Christian manuscript compiling short stories and anecdotes in the form of a narrative between a young king and his trusted advisor Shimas, Arabic manuscript on paper, 63ff. as numbered plus two fly-leaves, each folio with 17ll. of black naskh script, some words picked out in red, with catchwords, with one illustrated folio depicting the King and his advisor on f.2, the first folio a later replacement, last folio with later ownership notes giving the name of Yusuf al-Sirhali and giving the date of 18 Kanun I 7173 (Eastern Orthodox Church calendar) equivalent to 1664 AD, in Ottoman stamped brown morroco binding
Folio 7 3/8 x 5½in. (18.8 x 13.8cm.)

Lot Essay

The present story of King Jali'ad of Hind and Shimas appears in the Thousand and One Nights and covers the nights 900 to 930. This manuscript seems to open with the tale of The Shepherd and the Rogue of the nine-hundred-and-twenty-second night. According to Richard Burton, the book of Shimas is one of the oldest story cycles to have entered the Thousand and one Nights.

The story can be paralleled with the legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, a renowned tale popularized in a Christian text known as the Balavariani, and which comprised Christianized episodes from the life of Buddha. The work has various titles, including Balawhar and Budasaf and Bilawhar wa Yudhasaf.

More from Arts of Islam Including Property from the Bequest of Adrienne Minassian sold to benefit Brown University

View All