Extremely Rare and Important Copy of Jami's Yusuf Wa Zulaykha Copied by Mir Ali Heravi - SOLD

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Extremely Rare and Important Copy of Jami’s Yusuf Wa Zulaykha Copied by Mir Ali Heravi – SOLD

Shaybanid Bukhara – Signed: Mῑr ‘Alῑ [al-Heravi] (d. 1544) Dated: 938 AH / 1531 AD Text panel: 14 x 7.3cm.; folio 25 x 16.4cm

Persian manuscript on burnished cream paper, 151 ff. plus 5 fly-leaves, each folio with 14ll. of elegant black nas-ta’liq on gold-sprinkled ground and arranged into two columns with gold intercolumnar rules, headings in red, blue and gold ink, text panels within gold and polychrome rules, catchwords, opening bifolio with fine gold and polychrome illumination surrounding 6ll. of stepped nas-ta’liq in clouds reserved against illuminated ground, the first folio with two nas-ta’liq quatrains in praise of the manuscript, colophon signed and dated and stating that the manuscript was copied in the Shaybanid capital Bukhara (bi dār al-fakhirā Bukhārā), in white clouds reserved against gold ground with scrolling floral vine, in brown morocco binding with flap decorated with tooled and gilded medallions filled with animals, cloudbands and scrolling arabesques, the doublures decorated in elegant decoupé, later owners seals in the margins.

Two nas-ta’liq quatrains at the beginning of this manuscript, which are in praise of the penmanship, are signed by Safavid court calligraphers Shāh Mahmūd al-Nishāpūrῑ and Mālik al-Daylamῑ. Nishāpūrῑ and Daylamῑ were both in the service of the Safavid Shah Tahmasp (r.1524-76). It is a testament to the skill and elegance of Mir ‘Ali’s calligraphy that it was praised by two further highly regarded royal Safavid calligraphers, each particularly recognized for their skill in composing nas-ta’liq.

Calligrapher Shah Mahmud al-Nishapuri’s quatrain in praise of the present manuscript:

Transliteration:

In nuskha ki shūkhast chu khūbān-i zamān
Z’ῑn khūbterῑ ‘ajab ki bāshad ba jihān
Her safha-i ū z’husn-i khat gar dῑda
Ārasta chun safha-i rukhsār-i butān

Translation:

This manuscript is as full of joy and coquetry as the beauties of our age.
I wonder whether anything finer exists in all the world!
Every page in it is traversed by exquisite calligraphy,
Decked [with writing] just as the page-like cheeks of the beauties we worship [are decked with down].

Calligrapher Malik al-Daylami’s quatrain in praise of the present manuscript:

Transliteration:

In nuskha ki pur z’muskh-i Chῑn āmada ast
Chun khatt-i butān nāzanῑn āmada ast
In tarh-i badῑ‘ nῑst maqdūr-i bashar
Az ‘ālam-i ghayb anchinῑn āmada ast

Translation:

This manuscript has come [to us] suffused with the musk of China.
The rows of letters have come [to us] moving with attractive elegance, like the lines [of down] on [the cheeks of the youths as beautiful as] idols.
No human could have devised this novel design,
so it must have come [to us] from the world [beyond, the world] of the Unseen.

The binding has a leather tape inserted into the body of the flap which reads “… Sultān Abū Sa‘ῑd Kūrkān khalladallāhu mulkahu” (Sultān Abū Sa‘ῑd Kūrkān may God make his reign eternal). The tape bearing the name of Sultān Abū Sa‘ῑd Kūrkān may indicate the value of the manuscript in the eyes of the members of the Shaybanid court atelier in Bukhara. The two quatrains, on fol. 1a, are praising the beauty of the manuscript through the eyes of two Safavid master calligraphers; Shāh Mahmūd al-Nishāpūrῑ and Mālik al-Daylamῑ. The manuscript, as beautifully expressed in the poems, is indeed a true masterpiece of Islamic calligraphy.

The Calligrapher Mir ‘Ali Heravῑ

Mir ‘Ali Heravῑ, one of the greatest masters of the nas-ta’liq script, was born in Herat. As a teenager, he was taught by court calligrapher Zayn-al-Dῑn Mahmūd and developed a keen interest in calligraphy, causing him to spend much of his time thereafter mastering his calligraphic skills. Mir ‘Ali lived in Herat until he was middle-aged, though he sometimes traveled to nearby cities such as Mashhad. This stability was interrupted in 1528 when ‘Ubayd-Allāh Khān Uzbek occupied Khorasan and briefly brought Herat under his control. He then returned to his capital Bukhara, taking a number of artists with him, Mir ‘Ali and Shaykhzadeh Naqqāsh (“The Painter”) among them. Mir ‘Ali spent the rest of his life in Bukhara.

He had many signatures, among them ‘Ali, Mir ‘Ali, ‘Ali al-Kāteb, Mir ‘Ali al-Kāteb al-Sultānῑ, ‘Ali al-Husaynῑ, and ‘Ali al-Husaynῑ al-Kāteb. This is further complicated by the fact that many calligraphers of his time also bore the name ‘Ali. Mir ‘Ali produced many valuable books, such as Sa‘dῑ’s Bustān, which he wrote in a graceful nas-ta’liq script. These books date from 1508 to 1541. Other parts of Mir ‘Ali’s precious works are included in the Golshan album (muraqqa‘). This album was compiled between 1605 and 1629 and includes about ninety of Mir ‘Ali’s signed works. These pieces were written between 1533 and 1544. Mir ‘Ali was also a poet, and some of these works, written in his own handwriting, still survive. Among Mir ‘Ali’s most distinguished students was Mahmūd b. Ishāq al-Shihābῑ. Mir ‘Ali passed away in 1544, in Bukhara.

Categories: Notable Sales
Credits: Private UK Collection

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Extremely Rare and Important Copy of Jami’s Yusuf Wa Zulaykha Copied by Mir Ali Heravi – SOLD

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