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Anthology of Persian Poetry in Oblong Format (Safina)

Calligrapher Sultan Muhammad Nur Iranian
dated 905 AH/1499–1500 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 455
Images of angel-like, winged creatures known in Persian as pari enliven the small, delicately stenciled pages of this oblong-format Persian poetry anthology. With its stenciled folios, pseudo-marbleized pages, and multicolored papers and inks, this manuscript displays many of the innovative decorative techniques that developed within the Persian book arts during the fifteenth century. The engaging "patchwork" conceit of its colorful pages echoes the collected nature of its text—a gathering of short, sonnetlike Persian ghazals by diverse authors.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Anthology of Persian Poetry in Oblong Format (Safina)
  • Calligrapher: Sultan Muhammad Nur (Iranian, ca. 1472–ca. 1536)
  • Date: dated 905 AH/1499–1500 CE
  • Geography: Attributed to present-day Afghanistan, Herat
  • Medium: Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper.Binding: leather
  • Dimensions: H. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm)
    W. 3 in. (7.6 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Rogers Fund, Louis E. and Theresa S. Seley Purchase Fund for Islamic Art, and Persian Heritage Foundation Gift, 1997
  • Object Number: 1997.71
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Page of Calligraphy from the Bellini Album, Sultan Muhammad Nur Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Page of Calligraphy from the Bellini Album
Sultan Muhammad Nur
ca. 1600
Page of Calligraphy from the Bellini Album, Sultan Muhammad Nur Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Page of Calligraphy from the Bellini Album
Sultan Muhammad Nur
ca. 1600
Illuminated Frontispiece of a Bustan of Sa`di, Sultan Muhammad Nur Iranian, Folio: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper<br/>Binding: Leather
Illuminated Frontispiece of a Bustan of Sa`di
Sultan Muhammad Nur
dated 920 AH/1514 CE
Page of Calligraphy, Sultan Muhammad Nur Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Page of Calligraphy
Sultan Muhammad Nur
early 16th century
"The Mi'raj or The Night Flight of Muhammad on his Steed Buraq", Folio 3v from a Bustan of Sa`di, Sultan Muhammad Nur Iranian, Ink, gold, and colors on paper
"The Mi'raj or The Night Flight of Muhammad on his Steed Buraq", Folio 3v from a Bustan of Sa`di
Sultan Muhammad Nur
ca. 1525–35

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