Collection ID: 0023 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Shāhnāmah.
شاهنامه

Authors

• Firdawsī
  فردوسي
• Free Library of Philadelphia. Rare Book Department. John Frederick Lewis Collection of Oriental Manuscripts

Other related names

• Perkins, Oliver Henry, -1912, former owner
• Lewis, John Frederick, 1860-1932, former owner
• Lewis, Anne Baker, 1868-1937, donor
• Anderson Galleries, Inc, auctioneer

Call number

Lewis O 52
(Philadelphia, Free Library of Philadelphia, Rare Book Department)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 2515787
• http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1124680185
• http://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0023/html/lewis_o_052.html
• https://know.freelibrary.org/Record/2515787

Publisher

Free Library of Philadelphia

Language

Persian

Origin

Date

A.H. 996 (1588)

Place

Iran?

Summary

Complete, illustrated copy of the Shāhnāmah on inset leaves with 31 miniatures in bright colors and gold.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title from introduction (f. 4r).
   

Extent

514 leaves : 340 x 210 (220 x 125) mm bound to 345 x 215 mm

Foliation

Modern foliation added in pencil, upper left recto; catchwords every verso, lower left.

Support

Paper

Binding

Bound in black leather over pasteboard (Type III) with faded gold stamping of a central mandorla and two pendants on the vertical axis and wide frame, all with finials; doublure of red leather with central mandorla and two pendants on the vertical axis in formerly-gold tool, now green with double frame of parallel lines; back board detached.

Layout

25 lines in four columns; border-ruled and columns ruled.

Decoration

Illuminated frontispiece in blue and gold with a central circular medallion (shamsah) set into a larger blue shamsah with two pendants in blue along the vertical axis and cornerpieces also in blue, all filled with floral motifs in polychrome and gold, the remaining white space is filled with floral motifs in gold (f. 9r); dual-page illuminated opening with the text set into the middle register of three on each page within floral cloudbands, the upper and lower registers each have a gold cartouche surrounded by blue with polychrome and gold floral fill and the entire set is bordered by a wide band made of black and red cartouches all surrounded by a scalloped exterior frame in gold and blue with floral fill (f. 9v-10r); Five illuminated headpieces in gold and blue (f. 15v, 109v, 149v, 385v, 473v); 33 vibrantly colored illustrations (f. 18v, 28r, 35r, 43r, 58v, 64r, 71v, 80v, 89v, 104v, 145v, 158r, 184r, 187r, 197v, 204r, 213r, 238r, 265v, 277v, 292v, 310r, 345v, 365r, 382r, 415v, 438r, 442r, 456v, 469r, 482v, 499r, 505r); textblock border-ruled in blue, red, gold, and blue with columns ruled in gold; rubrications in red and gold.

Script

Written in nastaʻliq in black ink; pointed.

Provenance

• Sold at Anderson Auction Galleries, 23 March, 1926, lot 568 (catalog entries and note in pencil, f. 514v).
   
• Formerly owned by Oliver Henry Perkins (bookplate, f. 1r).
   
• Formerly owned by John Frederick Lewis.
   

Subjects topical

• Epic poetry, Persian--Early works to 1800
• Persian poetry--747-1500
• Illumination of books and manuscripts, Iranian--Specimens

Genres

• Manuscripts, Persian
• Manuscripts, Oriental
• Manuscripts, 17th century
• Manuscripts, 18th century
• Codices (bound manuscripts)
• Epic poems
• Illuminations (painting)
• Manuscripts (documents)
• Miniatures (paintings)
• Full covers
• Bookplates (Provenance)

Licenses

• Text

  These images and the content of Rare Book Department Lewis O 52: Shāhnāmah. are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

• Text

  To the extent possible under law, Free Library of Philadelphia, Special Collections has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this metadata about Rare Book Department Lewis O 52: Shāhnāmah.. This work is published from: United States. For a summary of CC0, see https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. Legal code: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode

Table of contents

• fol. 9v — Shāhnāmah.

Decorations

• fol. 1r — Bookplate: Oliver Henry Perkins
• fol. 9r — Illuminated frontispiece
• fol. 9v — Dual-page illuminated opening
• fol. 10r — Dual-page illuminated opening
• fol. 15v — Illuminated headpiece
• fol. 18v — Illustration
• fol. 28r — Illustration
• fol. 35r — Illustration
• fol. 43r — Illustration
• fol. 58v — Illustration
• fol. 64r — Illustration
• fol. 71v — Illustration
• fol. 80v — Illustration
• fol. 89v — Illustration
• fol. 104v — Illustration
• fol. 109v — Illuminated headpiece
• fol. 114v — Illustration
• fol. 145v — Illustration
• fol. 149v — Illuminated headpiece
• fol. 158r — Illustration
• fol. 184r — Illustration
• fol. 187r — Illustration
• fol. 197v — Illustration
• fol. 204r — Illustration
• fol. 213r — Illustration
• fol. 238r — Illustration
• fol. 265v — Illustration
• fol. 277v — Illustration
• fol. 292v — Illustration
• fol. 310r — Illustration
• fol. 345v — Illustration
• fol. 365r — Illustration
• fol. 382r — Illustration
• fol. 385v — Illuminated headpiece
• fol. 415v — Illustration
• fol. 438r — Illustration
• fol. 442r — Illustration
• fol. 456v — Illustration
• fol. 469r — Illustration
• fol. 473v — Illuminated headpiece
• fol. 482v — Illustration
• fol. 499r — Illustration
• fol. 505r — Illustration
• fol. 514v — Catalog entry
• Insert verso — Catalog entry
• Insert recto — Catalog entry