2011.492: Illustrated Manuscript of Yusuf va Zulaykha by Jami

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2011.492

Title

Illustrated Manuscript of Yusuf va Zulaykha by Jami

Classification

Manuscripts

Work Type

manuscript

Date

16th century

Places

Creation Place: Middle East, Iran

Period

Safavid period

Culture

Persian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/336923

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Leather binding, ink and watercolors on paper.

Dimensions

24.1 x 16.5 x 2.5 cm (9 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 1 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: The endpapers bear inscriptions and stamps, not yet fully deciphered.

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

[Hotel Drouot, Paris, 28 March 1968, lot 77], [through Jean Soustiel, Paris], sold; to Edwin Binney, 3rd, California (1969-1986), bequest; to Harvard Art Museums, 2011.


NOTE:
Stored at the San Diego Museum of Art from some time before 1986 until 1991, then at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 1991-2011.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard Art Museums

Accession Year

2011

Object Number

2011.492

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Description

This manuscript of Jami’s Yusuf and Zulaykha retains its decorated binding, double illuminated frontispiece, and five illustrations. The text is copied in nasta`liq in two columns on a gold-sprinkled ground on 142 folios. The text appears to be intact, but paintings occur only in the first 95 folios. The paintings can be described as:
31 verso: Zulaykha and her nurse are seated on a throne in a garden pavilion, receiving ambassadors of kings proposing marriage to Zulaykha. The miniature is placed in chapter "the suitors" (see Griffith, Yusuf and Zulaykha, London, 1882) after the 26th couplet (See Mudarris Gilani, Haft awrang, Tehran, 1351[1972] for the Persian text).
37 recto: Zulaykha and her nurse are on their way to Egypt seated in a litter on camelback, surrounded by men and women on horseback. The miniature is placed in chapter "the departure" (see Griffith, Yusuf and Zulaykha, London, 1882) after the 39th couplet (See Mudarris Gilani, Haft awrang, Tehran, 1351[1972] for the Persian text).
53 verso: Yusuf is rescued from the pit. The miniature is placed in chapter "the well" (see Griffith, Yusuf and Zulaykha, London, 1882) after the 18th couplet (See Mudarris Gilani, Haft awrang, Tehran, 1351[1972] for the Persian text).
56 verso: Yusuf and an angel in the Nile, alongside a boat filled with men. The miniature is placed in chapter "the bath" (see Griffith, Yusuf and Zulaykha, London, 1882) after the 9th couplet (See Mudarris Gilani, Haft awrang, Tehran, 1351[1972] for the Persian text).
95 verso: Zulaykha’s female guests (women of Egypt) cut their hands with knives, stunned by the beauty of Yusuf, while the enthroned Zulaykha is fanned by an attendant. The miniature is placed in chapter "the women of Memphis" (see Griffith, Yusuf and Zulaykha, London, 1882) after the 84th couplet (See Mudarris Gilani, Haft awrang, Tehran, 1351[1972] for the Persian text).

Verification Level