Walters Ms. W.600, Book of kings (Shahnama)ShāhnāmahشاهنامهFirdawsīAbū al-Qāsim Ḥasan ibn Isḥāq Firdawsī Ṭūsīابو القاسم حسن بن اسحاق فردوسى طوسىAuthor dates preferred by cataloger: d. 411 or 416 AH / 1020-5 CEPrincipal catalogerGacek, AdamCatalogerLandau, AmyCatalogerSmith, SitaEditorBockrath, DianeContributorBarrera, ChristinaContributorEmery, DougContributorHerbert, LynleyContributorNoel, WilliamContributorSimpson, ShreveContributorTabritha, ArielContributorToth, Michael B.ContributorValle, ChiaraConservatorJewell, StephanieConservatorQuandt, AbigailThe Walters Art Museum

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This is an illuminated and illustrated Safavid copy of the Book of kings (Shāhnāmah) by Firdawsī (d. 411 or 416 AH / 1020-5 CE), dating to the tenth century AH / sixteenth CE. The text is largely written in black nastaʿlīq script with headings in blue on a polychrome ground. The codex opens with an illuminated medallion (fol. 1a), followed by a double-page illuminated frontispiece (fols. 1b-2a), poorly preserved. The preface, ordered by Bāysunghur in 829 AH / 1425-6 CE, begins on fol. 2b. The Shāhnāmah text begins on fol. 14b with an inscribed illuminated titlepiece. It is divided into two parts. Eighteen paintings illustrate the text. The black lacquer binding with lobed central ovals and pendants is not contemporary with the manuscript and dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.BaltimoreThe Walters Art MuseumW.600The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.fols. 1a - 620bShāhnāmahشاهنامهPreface by Bāysunghur Mīrzā ibn Shāhrukh, composed in 829 AH / 1425-6 CE (fols. 1b-14a); main text divided into two parts, the second part with the title Luhrāsbnāmah (fol. 303b); double-page illuminated frontispiece before the preface (fols. 1b-2a) badly damagedFinal colophon (fol. 620a): tammat al-kitāb bi-ʿawn al-Malik al-Wahhāb fī awākhīr shahr Dhī al-Ḥijjah al-ḥarām /1/ sanat khams […] tisʿimi<ʾ>ah al-hijrīyah wa-ṣallá Allāh ʿalá /2/ khayr khalqih […] .ṭf [?] ḥqqh [?] Muḥammad wa-ālih /3/ wa-ajsābih wa-ʿitratih ajmaʿīn ilá /4/ yawm al-dīn wa-sallam taslīman /5/ dāyiman kathīran /6/ abadan /7/In addition to 620a, colophons are also on 14a and 303a: the first, which has no date, gives the title of the preface as Dībāchah-i Bāysunghurī; the second marks the end of the first part of the book; and the third has a damaged date: end of Dhū al-Ḥijjah 9[?]5

Laid paper

Foliation: i+621+i32.519.025.512.5

Written obliquely on versos

Framing lines in blue, gold, brown, and blackWritten in nastaʿlīq script in black, blue, and gold with chapter/section headings in blue on a decorated background; incidentals in blue and goldEighteen illustrations; double-page illuminated frontispiece with a faded inscription in four cartouches introducing the work and author (fols. 1b-2a); illuminated medallion (shamsah) (fol. 1a); titlepiece with the inscription aghāz-i kitāb-i Shāhnāmah in white ink on a decorated background (fol. 14b); titlepiece inscribed with the title of the second part: Kitāb-i Luhrāsb nāmah (fol. 303b); three tailpieces around the colophons (fols. 14a, 303a, and 620a); rectangular panels for chapter/section headings; frameBindingBindingThis black lacquer binding with lobed central ovals and pendants is not contemporary with the manuscript and probably dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.Illuminated medallionMedallionThis illuminated medallion (shamsah) with a blue ground and gold arabesques and polychrome roundels opens the codex. There are later inscriptions, including an ownership entry dated 12 Jumādá I 1204 AH / 1789 CE. The seal at the left gives the name Aḥmad.Double-page illuminated frontispieceFrontispieceThis is the right side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece that precedes the preface of the text. The inscriptions are not legible.Double-page illuminated frontispieceFrontispieceThis is the left side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece that precedes the preface of the text. The inscriptions are not legible.Text page of Shāhnāmah prefaceText pageThis is the first page of the preface ordered by Bāysunghur in 829 AH / 1425-6 CE. The text is largely written in black nastaʿlīq script with incidentals in blue and gold. The preface ends on fol. 14a with a colophon.Incipit page with illuminated titlepieceIncipit; titlepieceThis illuminated titlepiece is inscribed aghāz-i kitāb-i Shāhnāmah (the beginning of the book of the Shāhnāmah) in white ink on a blue ground with polychrome decoration.The court of KayūmarsIllustrationZāl in the court of Miḥrāb of KabulIllustrationRustam slays the White Dīv (the seventh feat)IllustrationRustam mortally wounds SuhrābIllustrationThe beheading of SiyāvushIllustrationKay Khusraw attacks the fortress of BahmanIllustrationThe Turanians fight the PersiansIllustrationThe combat of Rustam and PūlādvandIllustrationRustam rescues Bīzhan from the pitIllustrationGustaham fights Lahhāk and FarshīdvardIllustrationLuhrāsp enthronedIllustrationThis is the right side of a double-page illustration introducing the Book of Luhrāsp. The inscription in the middle eight-pointed star of the titlepiece reads: Kitāb-i Luhrāsb nāmah.Rustam kills Isfandiyār with an arrowIllustrationAlexander the Great and the dying DariusIllustrationArdashīr recognizes Shāpūr during a polo gameIllustrationBahrām Gūr hunting with ĀzādahIllustrationBahrām Gur enthroned after killing two lionsIllustrationA festive gathering in a landscapeIllustration

Probably thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE; black lacquer (no flap); central ovals and pendants decorated with floral designs on a gold background

10th century AH / 16th CE; damaged date in the colophon reads: end of Dhū al-Ḥijjah 9[?]5IranSeal impression with the name Aḥmad (fol. 1a)Ownership entry dated 12 Jumādá I 1204 AH / 1789 CE (fol. 1a)Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequestRelevant WorksStorey, C. A. Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey, Vol. 1. (London: Luzac, 1927- ), 112-159.Richard, Francis. Catalogue des manuscrits persans. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1989), nos. 228-9.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 stylecharterLiturgicalDevotionalScripturalTheologicalLegalHistoricalScientificScientific -- MedicalLiterary -- ProseLiterary -- PoetryPhilosophicalAstrologicalSufiEnglishBookCodexColophonHistoryIlluminationIllustrationIranIslamicManuscriptPersianSafavidWalters Art MuseumLiterature -- Poetry