1 / 50
Photo 1/50 du lotPhoto 2/50 du lotPhoto 3/50 du lotPhoto 4/50 du lotPhoto 5/50 du lotPhoto 6/50 du lotPhoto 7/50 du lotPhoto 8/50 du lotPhoto 9/50 du lotPhoto 10/50 du lotPhoto 11/50 du lotPhoto 12/50 du lotPhoto 13/50 du lotPhoto 14/50 du lotPhoto 15/50 du lotPhoto 16/50 du lotPhoto 17/50 du lotPhoto 18/50 du lotPhoto 19/50 du lotPhoto 20/50 du lotPhoto 21/50 du lotPhoto 22/50 du lotPhoto 23/50 du lotPhoto 24/50 du lotPhoto 25/50 du lotPhoto 26/50 du lotPhoto 27/50 du lotPhoto 28/50 du lotPhoto 29/50 du lotPhoto 30/50 du lotPhoto 31/50 du lotPhoto 32/50 du lotPhoto 33/50 du lotPhoto 34/50 du lotPhoto 35/50 du lotPhoto 36/50 du lotPhoto 37/50 du lotPhoto 38/50 du lotPhoto 39/50 du lotPhoto 40/50 du lotPhoto 41/50 du lotPhoto 42/50 du lotPhoto 43/50 du lotPhoto 44/50 du lotPhoto 45/50 du lotPhoto 46/50 du lotPhoto 47/50 du lotPhoto 48/50 du lotPhoto 49/50 du lotPhoto 50/50 du lot
Featured lot selected by the auctions House.
Ader

238 - Manuscript of an epic based on Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, North I…
See original version (French)

Estimate €25,000 - €35,000
Sale commission
Description
Manuscript of an epic based on Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, North India, probably Delhi or provincial Mughal school, late 18th - early 19th century Manuscript on paper of 249 folios, the text of 23 lines per page divided into four columns, in Persian nasta'liq in black ink. Some verses are written obliquely in cartouches illuminated with gold and polychrome floral decoration. Titles indicated in polychrome inks or gold in cartouches. Text illustrated with 51 miniatures, some of imposing size, painted in gouache, gold and silver. There is no illuminated frontispiece or colophon, and several pages are unfinished (framing fillets and illuminations missing, paintings unfinished). Text composed mainly of the Shahnameh up to chapter XXII, the Story of Bijan and Manijeh (part 14, c. 76), followed by an extract from the Barzunameh from part V, c. 2 (l. 12, folio 244 recto) to part XII, c. 93. The first part comprises 234 folios and 48 paintings, the second 16 folios and 3 illustrations. Bound in black leather with embossed floral border in gold. Collector's label on the first flyleaf "NO. 2369 OL", later handwritten annotations on the first folio and collector's label stating "N°. 331 HXH0". Typewritten label pasted at the end of the manuscript on the back cover of the binding indicating "Shahnamah. Pictures. 40. Pages. 293. Written in 1107 Hijri, in Kangra. No. B. 2. Ank. 275. Made in India. Size of binding: 32 x 23.3 cm Incomplete manuscript with missing folios and unfinished elements (some framing fillets, illuminations, illustrations etc.), wetness, stains, small accidents and tears, restorations, blank leaves added at the beginning and end, binding heavily worn and restored, fragments of its spine detached. Provenance : Belgian bibliophile private collection. This manuscript, written in Farsi, illustrates the taste of patrons in the Indian peninsula for dynastic histories and classical Persian culture. The choice of copying a Shahnameh (Book of Kings), the most famous Persian epic versified by Ferdowsi around the year 1000, was an obvious one, given the importance of this work for the elite, even beyond the borders of Iran. The copyist runs Ferdowsi's text up to chapter XXII (part 14, verse 76), then makes it clear that after telling the story of Bijan, he devotes himself to that of Borzû, son of Sohrâb (l.9, folio 234 r.). He then continues directly with an extract from the Barzunameh introduced by a title written in green in a cartouche "Beginning of the story of Borzû, son of Sohrâb". This second epic poem, consisting of 65,000 verses, recounts the adventures of the hero Borzû, grandson of the great Rostam. It is often attributed to the court poet Abul- Alâ' Atâ ibn Ya'qûb, known as Ata'î Razi (d. 1078 or 1098), who worked in the service of the Ghaznevids in Khorasan. This poem is written in the same meter and in a style similar to that of the Shahnameh, from which it takes its protagonists. It was a huge success among the collections of poems written after the Book of Kings, so much so that some copyists added extracts to the Shahnameh manuscripts, as was the case here. Whether we are dealing with the text of the Shahnameh or that of the Barzunameh, it has been observed that the copyist of this manuscript took the liberty of shortening sections, deleting certain verses and changing their place, thus proposing variants in relation to the officially published versions. This fantasy contributes to the originality of this work. {CR}In its current state, the work has no colophon, making it difficult to attribute it and to reconstruct the context in which it was created. The style of the paintings and illuminations points to the North Indian style of the late Mughal period, although they cannot be attributed with certainty to any particular school. The rich illustrations are vibrantly coloured, with solid colours similar to the Kashmiri palette. Gold plays an important role, contrasting with the generally dark skies with clouds finely ringed in gold, often seen in provincial Mughal and Delhiite paintings. Many of the scenes take place on the terraces of white marble palaces bordered by the flowerbeds of their chahar bagh, which are treated with depth effects, a nod to the West. The treatment of the architecture, the thrones and the characters' clothing is familiar from certain Delhi paintings. The scene of Farangis lamenting before Afrasiyab (folio 144 v.), for example, has much in common with the portrait of Ahmad Shah Abdali in Delhi's Red Fort in the Isabella and Vicky Ducrot Collection (see DUCROT, Vicky, Four Centuries of Rajput Painting: Mewar, Marwar and Dhundhar Indian Miniatures from the Collection of Isabella and Vicky Ducrot).
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Archaeology & Arts of Islam and India
Auction location
Auction time 06/26/2026 at 1:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like