Persian Poetry, Painting and Patronage: Illustrations in a Sixteenth-Century Masterpiece

by Marianna Shreve Simpson, Freer Gallery of Art

Commissioned by Prince Sultan Ibrahim Mirza in 1556, five Iranian court calligraphers devoted nine years to transcribing the poetic text of the great Persian classic, the Haft awrang (Seven Thrones), by the mystical poet Abdul-Rahman Jami. Then a team of gifted artists undertook the illumination and illustration of the manuscript. The masterpiece they created—housed today in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and known as the Freer Jami—is a sumptuous volume of some three hundred folios of elegant cursive script with richly decorated margins, thousands of multicolored section dividers, nine illuminated headings and nine colophons that begin and end the main divisions of the text, and twenty-nine full-scale paintings. This gorgeous book reproduces to scale the Freer Jami paintings, discusses each in detail, and introduces the manuscript’s patron and the artist’s painting style and meaning.

Marianna Shreve Simpson describes the cultural and artistic milieu in which Sultan Ibrahim Mirza’s great manuscript was created and explores the special style and imagery of the illustrations. She then considers the poetic content and mystical significance of the related passages, how the paintings interpret the passages, and the unique and innovative aspects of each painting. In the themes and images of the paintings, Simpson finds, are clues to the message of the manuscript as a whole. This book also includes a timeline of milestones in the prince’s life and in the production of his Haft awrang .

Copublished with the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

80 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 1998

Reviews

[Gavin White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the most beautiful illustrations I have ever seen. Unlike many of the books I have seen on Persian art, this one does have very good reproductions. The author has added a quick introduction about how these illustrated manuscripts were patronised and produced. The main part of the book is 28 full colour plates each with a brief commentary that points out various features and some of the artistic conventions used in Persian art.
It went out of print many years ago and can only be obtained on the second-hand market. Be patient, and a reasonably priced one will come along eventually.

[Terry Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my passion .

[Monireh Shabanpour · Rating 5 out of 5]

marvellous!