HAFEZ (HAFIZ) [Khwaaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi].
[The Divân of Hafez].
[Persia], 983 AH [= 1575-76 CE]. 21.3 x 16 cm. Illuminated manuscript on paper, written in a fine nasta'liq script in black ink in 2 columns of 15 lines per page. The two columns of text are written in a panel measuring 14 x ca. 7.4 cm, most of the text is written in a simple frame built up from lines in black, turquoise, gold, and blue. The text begins with a beautiful blue and gold headpiece with small white, red, gold, and light blue flowers. Leaves 1v and 2r are beautifully highlighted in gold and decorated with intricate flower designs, vertically in between the text columns one finds small flowers in gold, white, red, brown, and light blue on a background of gold, horizontally between the text one finds gold highlights and banners of samll white, red, brown, and light blue flowers on a kobalt blue (and 1 one instance black) background, the two columns together are surrounded by frame with incredibly intricate gold and blue flowers and blue dots on a clear background, the larger margins on these leaves are beautifully decorated with an intricate flower-and-vine design in gold, outlined in black and the centers of the flowers are either red or blue. The text on leaves 2v and 3r is surrounded by the same frame of incredibly intricate gold and blue flowers and blue dots, with some additional colourful lines surrounding this frame. Leaf 8 is sprinkled with gold paint, the margins of leaf 18 are decorated with gold dots. All text (and decorations) is surrounded by a thin black double-line frame spanning 2 facing pages (ca. 21.8 x 30 cm). Later half black leather and multicolour painted and lacquered paper over paper boards. The painted sides show (from the outside in) a 0.4 cm blue frame around a 1.2 cm border of orange and green flowers with red details on a yellow background, this is followed by another 0.4 blue frame which surrounds the main decoration: large flowers in red, yellow, green, and blue on a vibrant orange background. [92] ll.
€ 25,000
Beautifully highlighted in gold, illustrated manuscript containing the poems by Khwâja Shams-ud-Dîn Muhammad Hâfez-e Shîrâzî known by his pen name Hafez (or Hafiz, "the memorizer; the (safe) keeper"; 1315-1390). Hafezs collected works are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature and are often found in the homes of people in the Persian-speaking world, who learn his poems by heart and still use them as proverbs and sayings. Hafez wrote primarily in the literary genre of lyric poetry, or ghazals, the ideal style for expressing the ecstasy of divine inspiration in the mystical form of love poems. He is considered one of the early and prolific poets working in and shaping the Sufi philosophy (see the introduction by Gertrude Lowthian Bell to her annotated translation: Poems from the Divan of Hafiz (London 1897), esp. pp. 1-63).
The Divân of Hafez is read both as sensual love poetry and as Sufi spiritual allegory. The poems revel in ambiguity, irony, and emotional depth, which is a big part of their enduring power. Its influence reaches far beyond Iran, inspiring figures from Goethe to modern poets worldwide.
The apparent date of completion of the present manuscript can be found in one of the last poetic couplets on the last leaf: "Sad sekar ke akhir-e in ba tamam resid / dar nohsad-o hastad-o s[ed] ... One hundred hunters who have finally reached the end in 983 ...", unfortunately the last words were lost.
With some occasional manuscript annotations in the margins. The binding shows minor signs of wear, the leaves are soiled, occasional restorations to the paper. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful 16th-century manuscript containing the Divân of Hafez.
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