Artwork Page for Persian Quatrains (Rubayi) and Calligraphic Exercises (recto); Persian Verse (khamriyya) (verso)

Details / Information for Persian Quatrains (Rubayi) and Calligraphic Exercises (recto); Persian Verse (khamriyya) (verso)

Persian Quatrains (Rubayi) and Calligraphic Exercises (recto); Persian Verse (khamriyya) (verso)

c. 1509–50

Sultan Muhammad Khandan

(Iranian, d. after 1550)
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Culture
Afghanistan, Herat, Safavid period (1501–1722)
Medium
ink, gold, and opaque watercolor on paper
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Mehmed A. Simsar in memory of Dr. Mehmed A. Simsar 1983.1115
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

This page contains two quatrains—poems made up of four lines. The diagonally written text in the center of the page is a poem addressed to a ruler, expressing hope for his success and the downfall of his enemies. The second poem is split between the horizontal panels at the top and bottom of the page. This quatrain praises the beauty of the writer’s beloved, saying that “her moonlike face can steal away a hundred besotted hearts.” At the right are calligraphic exercises displaying letters of the alphabet and the virtuoso skill of the calligrapher Sultan Muhammad Khandan, who signed the page in the triangle at the lower left of the inner text block.
Black ink and gold brushed on gold-speckled paper present two vertical pages. The left, encased in blue-gray margins, features diagonal and horizontal calligraphy beside a vertical column. The right page has tan margins and a central column of bold vertical script flanked by narrow blue bands with colorful arabesques. Both compositions use structured framing and vibrant pigments to highlight text set against a backdrop of delicate, winding flower and vine patterns.

Persian Quatrains (Rubayi) and Calligraphic Exercises (recto); Persian Verse (khamriyya) (verso)

c. 1509–50

Sultan Muhammad Khandan

(Iranian, d. after 1550)
Afghanistan, Herat, Safavid period (1501–1722)

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