Artwork Page for Illuminated folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)

Details / Information for Illuminated folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)

Illuminated folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)

calligraphy: c. 1475–1500; border: c. 1550

Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi

(Iranian, 1430–1520)
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Culture
Iran
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, gold, and silver on paper
Measurements
Overall: 30 x 19 cm (11 13/16 x 7 1/2 in.); Text area: 16.3 x 9.8 cm (6 7/16 x 3 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of William Kelly Simpson in memory of his wife Marilyn M. Simpson and her grandparents Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr. 2006.147.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Words in gold ink mark new sections, while the main text is written in black.

Description

Silver and gold paints were used against an indigo blue background to create a fantastic frame for the text of the Gulistan. Meaning “rose bush” in Persian, this text is a collection of anecdotes in both verse and prose. Here, a winged lion chases a winged deer from the upper margins to the lower, where it rends the mythical deer and sends a toothy fox running.
A vertically oriented manuscript page features black Persian script within a central cream panel, surrounded by a wide border of gold flowering trees and mythical creatures on dark blue. Two dragon-like beasts leap through foliage at the top. In the bottom border, two similar creatures grapple while a fox runs toward the right. Delicate flowering branches and stylized blossoms wind throughout the dark background, framing the central text.

Illuminated folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)

calligraphy: c. 1475–1500; border: c. 1550

Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi

(Iranian, 1430–1520)
Iran

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