Shahnama Project : Shahnama

Firdausi

Shahnama Project

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>The recording of this manuscript is based on a brief inspection by Ch. Melville. in June 2006, when the leaves were paginated, starting with the flyleaves at the beginning, and a further examination in November 2008. A copy of the Sale catalogue is pasted onto the flyleaves at the end.</p><p>The ms. is an example of the "truncated" Shahnamas identified as a group by Karin Ruhrdanz, which also associates their production with Ottoman Baghdad. Simsar considered the paintings to be of the Safavid school, executed much later than the ms. itself, an opinion that cannot now be sustained. The manuscript includes the Barzunama, from f. 215v.</p><p>The volume is bound in heavy leather with blind-pressed medallions in gold; the outside has a red inner field with a medallion and pendants in black (Simsar); dimensions of the volume: 343 x 215 mm. The paper is &apos;glazed native paper of ivory finish&apos; (Simsar). The margins are ruled in red, blue and gold and the rubrics written in either gold or red ink.</p><p>There is a shamsa on f. 9r, followed by the &apos;older&apos; (Abu Mansuri) preface (ff. 9v-15r), starting on a double carpet page (ff. 9v-10r). The text of the Shahnama starts on f. 15v, under an illuminated unvan. Four further unvans (ff. 109v, 149v, 384v and 472v) introduce new sections of the text.</p><p>See the catalogue by Simsar, pp. 79-82, for a list of the illuminations and paintings contained in the ms. After f. 265v, all his page numbers are one to low.</p></p>