SHAHNAMEH - Shāhnāmeh
[likely early 19th century; prior to 1876]. Leather - Hardcover. A significant and very large manuscript comprising the second half of the Shahnameh: 332 leaves. Size: 19.2 x 29.4 cm; (written surface: 13.5 x 22.7 cm). Written in four columns, on beige paper, in nasta`līq script in black ink, with all headings in red ink on decorative gold ground. All pages are ruled in gold, red, and blue. All the dividing columns are in either gold decorated red or gold decorated blue. There are two illuminated headings and 34 miniatures. The miniatures are stunningly bright and exquisite, generally filling nearly the entire page. The manuscript is bound in full morocco, with scroll work in gilt on both covers, rebacked, with one corner repaired. Binding is in very good condition, with marbled French end papers. A few minor repairs to leaves (with no loss of text).
Dating: While undated, the last page contains two identical impressions of seals, each one reads: Sayyid Muhammad Nuh 1293 of the Islamic calendar, corresponding to 1876 AD. Therefore, the manuscript was written and likely illustrated in the earlier part of the nineteenth century, prior to 1876.
Ferdawsi, more commonly transliterated as Firdowsi (or Ferdausi) (940–1020) is a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of the Persian people and of the Iranian World. Ferdawsi, the son of a wealthy landowner, was born in 940 in a small village named Paj near Tus in Khorasan, Northeast of Iran. His great epic, the Shahnameh (“The Great Book": or “The Book of Kings”) is his magnum opus. He devoted more than 35 years of his life to write it. He, no doubt, read and utilized all the available material regarding the history, legends, and tales of the Persian people. When he finished the book, Ferdawsi went to Ghazni, the Ghaznavid capital, to present it to the Sultan. One story tells that Sultan Mahmud had promised Ferdowsi a dinar for every distich written in the Shahnameh, some 60,000 dinars. But later he retracted the offer and presented him with 20,000 dirhams, which is equal 200 dinars. Ferdawsi rejected the gift, or, by some accounts, he gave it to a poor man who sold wine. He returned home saddened and unhappy. He wrote a long and angry poem, more like a curse, and ended with the words: "Heaven's vengeance will not forget. Shrink tyrant from my words of fire, and tremble at a poet's ire." Ferdawsi is said to have died around 1020 in poverty at the age of 85. Ferdawsi was buried at the yard of his own home, where his mausoleum now lies. It was not until Reza Shah Pahlavi's rule, in 1925, that a mausoleum was built for the great poet.
Provenance: The bookplate laid down on the inner front cover reads: E. C. Simpson Ex Libris. Sapere Aude (Latin expression: Dare to Know). It is known that the collection of Edward Cyril Simpson (1894 – 1979) was sold by Dunbar Sloane Auction House on 22nd of April 2009 in Willington, New Zealand. The most expensive items were bought by the New Zealand Government for their National Library. Also, Simpson had a significant interest in Persian miniatures. The sale description of the present manuscript is laid down on the front page opposite the front cover. Fine. Item #53541
Price: $27,500.00