Firdausi. Shahnama, Illustrated and Illuminated Persian Manuscript on Paper, Attributable to Mu'in Musavvir, Safavid, Persia, Dated A.H. 1067 and 1088/A.D. 1657 and 1677-8

39 miniatures removed and mounted with box, 3 headings, preface with 25 lines of text in black nasta'liq, begins with an illuminated headpiece in colours and gold, main text begins with an illuminated heading in colours and gold, text in four columns of black nasta'liq with double intercolumnar rules in gold, catchwords and headings highlighted in red nasta'liq, margins ruled in colours and gold, incomplete, binding of stamped brown morocco



The colophon of the preface reads 'tammat al-dibaja li-shahnama... 'ala yadd al-da'if al-nahif muhammad mun'im al-hasani al-husayni al-... fi sana 1088 fi balada isfahan'



'The preface of the Shahnama was completed by the weak, meagre servant (of God) Muhammad Mun'im al-Hasani al-Husayni in the year 1088 (A.D. 1677-78) in the city of Isfahan.' Muhammad Mun'im is not recorded.



The colophon of the text reads 'katabahu al-'abd al-mudhnib al-raji muhammad qasim ibn ghiyath al-din 'ali ustadi be-tarikh-e shahr-e rabi' al-thani sana 1067' 



'The sinful servant (of God) hoping for His mercy Muhammad Qasim ibn Ghiyath al-Din 'Ali, master of mine, wrote it in Rabi'II 1067 (January-February A.D.1657)' Muhammad Qasim ibn Ghiyath al-Din 'Ali is not recorded.



The opening page with a note: 'The book of the Shahnama with forty illustrations by the Master Mu'in Musavvir'



The stamp of 'Persian Exhibition New York 1940 DM45'



A note records that manuscript was obtained from ‘his Majesty Muzaffar al-Din Shah’ (1895-1906).



 The final flyleaf records the sale of the MS. on a visit to the ‘atabat (in Iraq) in 1129 A.H., for 2 tumans and 5,000 dinars



On one page traces of a late 19th-early 20th century note on top right hand corner and an oval seal impression on the lower left with the date A.H. 1235/A.D.1819-20

The Persian Art exhibition in New York in 1940.

This important copy of the Shahnama of Firdausi boasts thirty-nine miniatures attributable to the great Safavid artist Mu'in Musavvir.

The Shahnama or 'Book of Kings' is a work of epic proportions composed by the Persian poet Firdausi.  Consisting of around 50,000 verses it is thought to be the longest poem ever written by a single author.  It recounts the complete history of Persia from the dawn of time and the rule of the first king Kayumars, up until the invasion of the Muslim Arabs in the seventh century.  The Shahnama is split into three sections, addressing Persian myth, legend and history.  The sections devoted to myth and legend incorporate such material as the formation of the world, the domestication of animals and the struggle between good and evil that dominates the myths and legends of most civilisations.  The concluding section however chronicles the real figures of Persian history, including the Parthians and the Sassanians, although it is embroidered with their legendary feats.

Firdausi was born in Tus in A.D. 940-1 to a privileged and educated family.  He experienced, and was likely influenced by, the tenth century's cultural backlash against the Arab-Islamic domination of Persia.  Which nationalistic sentiment found its expression in the revival of pre-Islamic customs, such as the writing of historical annals and the resurgence of the Persian language. 

The poet began work on his Shahnama no later than A.D.980 and had completed the final version in A.D.1010 when he was 71 years of age.  Firdausi presented his Shahnama to the powerful Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna, who undervalued the work both financially and intellectually leaving Firdausi with little compensation for his masterpiece.  The poignant colophon to the epic records, "when I was 71 years of age the heavens paid homage to my poem; for 35 years in this transient world, I composed my work in the hope of a reward; as my efforts were spent for nothing, these 35 years were without result; now I am nearly 80 and all my hope has gone with the wind." (EI vol.ii, 1983, p.919).  Happily Firdausi's genius was recognised in later periods, the Shahnama becoming so much a symbol of Persian identity that it was assimilated into the regalia of kings.

It is interesting to note that this is not the conventional Shahnama text as it includes an inserted section with a different scribe and on different paper containing the Barzu-nama.  Another curious features of the text is that the early wars of the reign of Kay Khusrau are omitted, as is the whole of the final war with Afrasiyab. In the second section, the whole of the Iskandar cycle is omitted. In some parts, the text seems close to the standard editions; in others, the manuscript displays many divergences and variations.  These unusual changes suggest that this manuscript was the private possession of an important and influential individual, one who could demand changes in the text and patronise as famous an artist as Mu'in Musavvir.

It is fitting that this most patriotic of texts is likely to have been illustrated by Mu'in Musavvir, whose style remained stoically Persianate even as his contemporaries were increasingly influenced by European prints.  The gifted Mu'in was one of the most prolific artists of the later Safavid period.  Born in 1617 Mu'in flourished for 72 years, producing single page drawings and paintings in addition to several complete manuscripts some, such as this, containing numerous miniatures.  

This manuscript is closely comparable to one by Mu'in once in the collection of Cornelius J. Hauck, sold through Christie's New York, 27 and 28 June 2006, lot 62.

The miniatures are as follows:

016r.Kayumars enthroned
017v.Tahmuras enthroned
024v.Faridun defeats Zahhak
028r.Faridun tests his sons
034v.Manuchihr kills Tur in battle
038v.Sam introduces Zal to Nauzar
058v.Zal learns of the death of Nauzar
068r.Rustam's fourth labour: he kills the witch
070r.Rustam's seventh labour: he kills the White Div
082v.Suhrab fights Gurdafarid
089v.Rustam discovers Suhrab's identity
091v.Tahmina learns of Suhrab's death
097v.The fire ordeal of Siyavush
112r.Siyavush fights Damur
117r.Guruy executes Siyavush
125v.Manizha is brought to the pit
134v.Rustam rescues Bizhan from the pit
191r.Gushtasp kills a wolf in Rum
194v.Gushtasp kills Ilyas in combat
206r.Gushtasp puts Isfandiyar in chains
215r.Isfandiyar's second labour: he fights the lions
217r.Isfandiyar's fifth labour: he kills the Simurgh
221v.Isfandiyar kills Arjasp to rescue his sisters
232v.Rustam feasts with Isfandiyar
238v.Rustam shoots Isfandiyar in the eyes with a double-pointed arrow
244r.Rustam kills Shaghad before dying
268r.Shapur Dhu'l Aktaf enthroned
272v.Shapur besieges Nisibin
276v.Munzir presents Bahram with some beautiful slave girls
281v.Bahram Gur fights two lions to win the throne
296v.Nushzad killed in battle with Ram Barzin
310r.Anushirvan receives the Khaqan's daughter
320r.Talhand dies on the back of his elephant during the battle
341r.Bahram Chubina kills the fleeing Sava Shah
359v.Binduy and Gustaham blind Hurmuzd
371r.Bahram son of Siyavush brings Banduy before Bahram Chubina
381r.The captive Qulun mortally wounds Bahram Chubina
403r.Mihr Hurmuzd murders Khusrau Parviz
414r.The miller assassinates Yazdagird

further reading:

Browne E G., Literary History of Persia, vol.i and vol.ii, Cambridge, 1964
Cambridge History of Iran vol.iii (1&2) and vol.vi, Cambridge 1983 and 1986
Canby S R., Persian Painting, London, 1993
EI vo.ii, Leiden, 1983
Falk, T., (ed.) Treasures of Islam, Geneva, 1985
Sims, E., Peerless Images Persian Painting and its Sources, Singapore, 2002
Welch A., Shah 'Abbas and the Arts of Isfahan, New York, 1973
Welch S C., A King's Book of Kings The Shah-Nameh of Shah Tahmasp, New York, 1972