Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, (d.1273 AD), the six books of the Mathnawi, Persia, Timurid, dated 881-6 AH/1476-81 AD

Persian manuscript on polished paper, 433 leaves plus a flyleaf, 17 lines to the page, written in neat nasta'liq script in black ink within 4 columns separated by double intercolumnar rules in gold, catchwords, headings in gold and black, f.1a with illuminated shamsa with a border of interlacing split-palmettes enclosing a lobed medallion, old inventory mark above 'no.(2)', following double page with preface written in gold riqa' script with tightly-woven headpiece and borders of scrolling flowers in colours and gold, ff.2b-3a with fully illuminated double page frontispiece rigorously decorated with a carpet of scrolling vines, split-palmettes and gold cartouches against a blue ground, 5 further illuminated headpieces at the start of each book with corresponding decoration, 1 of which with heading in ornamental white Eastern Kufic script, later Qajar lacquer binding decorated with floral motifs

In generally good overall condition, remargined at the upper edge of each page, later Qajar binding with some wear, some water stains to outer margins, opening leaf and binding board requiring conservation as almost loose from binding, illumination bright and pages generally clean, as viewed.
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Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi was a Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic. Rumi was born either in the village of Waksh in the greater Balkh region in present-day Tajikistan or the city of Balkh located in present-day Afghanistan. Greater Balkh was at the time a major centre of Persian culture and Sufism, and he was influenced by the Persian poets ‘Attar and Sanai. He wrote his major work, Mathnawi Ma’navi in six volumes containing twenty-seven thousand lines of mystical poetry, in Konya where he is buried.

Each of the Mathnawi's six books are dated as follows:

Book one: 881 AH/1476-77 AD.
Book two: Dhi’l-qa’dah 881 AH/February-March 1477 AD.
Book three: Ramadan 882 AH/December 1477-January 1478 AD.
Book four: 14 Ramadan 885 AH/17 November 1480 AD.
Book five: First Dhi’l-qa’dah 885 AH/2 January 1481 AD.
Book six: 9 Muharram 886 AH/10 March 1481 AD.

A further Timurid Mathnawi of roughly the same date, and exemplifying a very similar high-quality illumination to the present copy, was sold in these rooms, 6 April 2011, lot 220. A slighly earlier, yet comparable manuscript, was sold at Christie's, 21 April 2016, lot 80.