Walters Ms. W.598, History of NigaristanKitāb-i Nigāristānكتاب نكارستان<note type="title" xml:id="n257.015754">Also known as Tārīkh-i Nigāristān (see fol. 216a); composed in 959 AH / 1552 CE (see fol. 216a)</note>Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Ghaffārīاحمد بن محمد غفارىPrincipal catalogerGacek, AdamCatalogerLandau, AmyCatalogerSmith, SitaEditorBockrath, DianeContributorBarrera, ChristinaContributorEmery, DougContributorHerbert, LynleyContributorNoel, WilliamContributorSimpson, ShreveContributorTabritha, ArielContributorToth, Michael B.ContributorValle, ChiaraConservatorJewell, StephanieConservatorQuandt, AbigailThe Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.

This is an illuminated and illustrated Safavid copy of the History of Nigaristan (Iran), known as Kitāb-i Nigāristān or Tārīkh-i Nigāristān by Ahmad Ghaffārī (d. 975 AH / 1567-8 CE). The colophon indicates that it was completed on 5 Shawwāl 976 AH / 1569 CE. The manuscript opens with a double-page illuminated frontispiece, and there are eight paintings illustrating the text in a style that has been associated with the school of painting at Shīrāz. The dark brown/black leather binding, which is contemporary with the manuscript, has a large central panel with oval and pendants. The border is comprised of cartouches alternating with roundels. All are gold-brushed and decorated with floral and cloud motifs.BaltimoreThe Walters Art MuseumW.598The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.fols. 1b - 216aKitāb-i Nigāristānكتاب نكارستان<note type="title" xml:id="n257.015803">Also known as Tārīkh-i Nigāristān (see fol. 216a); composed in 959 AH / 1552 CE (see fol. 216a)</note>اى طرانده بهارستان وى نكارنده نكارستان...tammat al-kitāb al-mawsūm bi-Tārīkh Nigāristān wa-lubb al-lubāb bi-ʿawn Allāh al-Malik al-Aʿlam al-Wahhāb /1/ fī ʿaṣr yawm al-khamīs khāmis shahr Shawwāl khatama al-khayr wa- /2/ al-iqbāl ʿām sitt wa-sabʿīn wa-tisʿimiʾah /3/ al-hijrīyah al-nabawīyah wa-al-ḥashm bi-al-nabī man lā nabī /4/In Arabic, giving the title as Tārīkh Nigāristān and the date of copying

Laid paper

Foliation: i+216+i31.018.017.09.5

Written on versos, close to the tail-edge

Written in black nastaʿlīq script with incidentals in gold, red, and blueEight illustrations; double-page illuminated frontispiece with the title and author’s name, incipit page with illuminated titlepiece; borders with floral designs and cloud-bands; frameBindingBindingThis dark brown/black leather binding, which is contemporary with the manuscript, has a large central panel with oval and pendants. The border is comprised of cartouches alternating with roundels. All are gold-brushed and decorated with floral and cloud motifs.Double-page illuminated frontispieceFrontispieceThis is the right side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece giving the name of the work, Kitāb-i Nigāristān, and the author's name, Ahmad Ghaffārī.Double-page illuminated frontispieceFrontispieceThis is the left side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece giving the name of the work, Kitāb-i Nigāristān, and the author's name, Ahmad Ghaffārī.Incipit page with illuminated titlepieceIncipit; titlepieceThis incipit page has an illuminated, double-tiered titlepiece inscribed with the title of the work, Kitāb-i Nigāristān. The interlinear illumination has polychrome floral motifs.Munzir ibn Mughīrah of Damascus being received by the vizier Fazl BarmakīIllustrationThe daughter of Seljuk Sultan Malikshāh, mounted on a camel, meeting her bridegroom on her way to BaghdadIllustrationBahrām Gūr killing a white elephantIllustrationSultan Jalāl al-Dīn and his men after their defeat by the MongolsIllustrationGashtāsb playing polo in the presence of the Roman EmperorIllustrationTīmūr fighting Shah ManṣūrIllustrationTīmūr and his army during the campaign in IraqIllustrationSarāmās singing before TīmūrIllustration

Dark brown/black leather binding (no flap); large central panel with oval and pendants; border comprised of cartouches alternating with roundels; all gold-brushed and decorated with floral and cloud motifs; doublures of dentelle-style, multi-colored decoration

5 Shawwāl 976 AH / 1569 CEIranWalters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequestRelevant WorksRichard, Francis. Catalogue des manuscrits persans. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1989), nos. 65, 108.ArtMedicineMuseumPoetryScriptMuhammad, the ProphetRomaniaKashmiriHorsesWalters Art MuseumBlockbookDocumentGeneologyAstrologyDevotionHistoryLegalLiterature -- PoetryLiterature -- ProseLiturgyPhilosophyScienceScience -- MedicineScriptureSufismTheologyMineralogyLogicGeographyGeomancyCosmologyCartographyFortune-tellingKoranQur`anFirmanPalimpsestPrayerBibleGospelsPsalterMissalLectionaryBook of HoursAntiphonaryPrayerbookHomilaryProcessionalHorologionBreviaryHymnalChroniclePsalter/HoursMaghrebSub-Saharan (West) AfricaTurkeyAfghanistanCentral Arab Lands (Near East)Central AsiaEgyptEnglandIndiaIranIraqPakistanGermanyFranceAustriaNetherlandsEthiopiaArmeniaFlandersGreeceMamlukMughalOttomanOttonianArmenianByzantineAbbasidQajarRajputChristianArabicAustrianDutchEgyptianFatimidGermanIndianIslamicPersianSafavidTimuridTurkishUmayyadEnglishFrenchFlemishEthiopianCarolingianCalligraphyChartsColophonHeadpieceIlluminationIllustrationMedallionMiniatureOrnamentPainting'Kufic'Early Abbasid scriptRaginiRomanesqueGothicWatermarkTreasure BindingGrotesquesHistoriated initialInhabited initialCarolingian MinusculeGothic Book handWhite-vine letteringEnglish secretaryTexturaBatardaHumanisticUncialAccordion bookAlbumBookCodexManuscriptHeraldrySaint's LifeDrawingGrisailleOriginal BindingBindingNew Abbasid stylecharter8th Century9th Century10th Century11th Century12th Century13th Century14th Century15th Century16th Century17th Century18th Century19th Century20th CenturyLiturgicalDevotionalScripturalTheologicalLegalHistoricalScientificScientific -- MedicalLiterary -- ProseLiterary -- PoetryPhilosophicalAstrologicalSufiEnglishBookCodexHistoryIlluminationIllustrationIranIslamicManuscriptPersianWalters Art MuseumOriginal Binding