Walters Ms. W.622, Five poems (quintet)Khamsah-i Dihlavīخمسه دهلوىAmīr Khusraw Dihlavī, ca. 1253-1325Amīr Khusraw Dihlavīامير خسرو دهلوىAuthor dates preferred by cataloger: d. 725 AH / 1325 CEscribePīr Ḥusayn al-Kātib al-Shīrāzīپير حسين الكاتب الشيرازيScribe's name appears at the end of Āyinah-i Iskandarī (fol. 224a), not in the final colophonPrincipal 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 illustrated and illuminated Safavid copy of the Khamsah (quintet) of Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī (d. 725 AH / 1325 CE), written by Pīr Ḥusayn al-Kātib al-Shīrāzī in 935 AH / 1529 CE. The codex opens with a double-page illuminated frontispiece with verses in honor of the poet Mir (Amir) Khusraw (fols. 1b-2a). There are four illuminated incipit pages introducing the individual poems, and thirteen paintings illustrate the text. The lacquer binding, which is not original to the manuscript, has a hunting scene on the upper and lower boards. The lower board is inscribed yā Shāh Najaf (oh, King of Najaf, i.e. ʿAlī) and is dated 1271 AH / 1854 CE.BaltimoreThe Walters Art MuseumW.622The primary language in this manuscript is Persian. The secondary language of this manuscript is Arabic.fols. 1b - 274aKhamsah-i Dihlavīخمسه دهلوىبسم الله الرحمن الرحيم خطبه قدست بملك قديم...Contains the five poems: Maṭlaʿ al-anvār (fols. 1b-55a), Shīrīn va Khusraw (fols. 55b-114a), Majnūn va Laylá (fols. 114b-155a), Āyinah-i Iskandarī (fols. 155b-224a), Hasht bihisht (fols. 224b-274a); some folios damaged, causing loss of textscribetamma al-kitāb bi-ʿawn Allāh al-Malik al-Wahhāb wa-ḥusn tawfīqih fī yawm al-arbaʿāʾ /1/ thālith ʿishrīn [sic] shahr Dhī al-Qaʿdah sanat khams wa-thalāthīn wa- /2/ tisʿimi<ʾ>ah min al-hijrah al-nabawīyah al-muṣṭafawīyah ṣlʿm (=ṣallá Allāh ʿalayhi wa-sallama) /3/

Laid paper

Foliation: 274+i27.016.517.59.0

Written obliquely on versos

Framing lines in blue, black, and gold; text written horizontally and obliquelyWritten in nastaʿlīq script in black with sections/headings in gold and blueThirteen illustrations (fols. 23a, 34b, 39a, 66a, 123a, 130b, 173b, 186b, 207b, 232b, 244b, 254b, and 267b); double-page illuminated frontispiece (fols. 1b-2a); illuminated incipit pages with titlepieces (Shīrīn va Khusraw [fol. 55b], Majnūn va Laylá [fol. 114b], Āyinah-i Iskandarī [fol. 155b], and Hasht bihisht [fol. 224b]); framing lines in blue, black, and goldBindingBindingThis lacquer binding depicts a hunting scene and dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.Double-page illuminated frontispieceFrontispieceThis is the right side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece introducing the first poem of the Khamsah, Maṭlaʿ al-anvār. The inscription consists of verses in honor of Mīr (Amīr) Khusraw.Double-page illuminated frontispieceMaṭlaʿ al-anvārFrontispieceThis is the left side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece introducing the first poem of the Khamsah, Maṭlaʿ al-anvār. The inscription consists of verses in honor of Mīr (Amīr) Khusraw.The prophet Khizr paying a visit to a pious manMaṭlaʿ al-anvārIllustrationFour men die of thirst in a desertMaṭlaʿ al-anvārIllustrationFour men die of thirst in a desert, each refusing the water offered by a stranger on a camel until his companion has drunk.A king out hunting accidentally kills a young manMaṭlaʿ al-anvārIllustrationA king out hunting accidentally kills a young man and offers to compensate his mother with his own life or a platter of gold.Illuminated incipit page with titlepieceShīrīn va KhusrawIncipit; titlepieceThis illuminated incipit page has a titlepiece inscribed with the title of the second poem of the Khamsah, Kitāb-i Shīrīn va Khusraw, in white ink on a gold ground.Khusraw meets Shīrīn while huntingShīrīn va KhusrawIllustrationIncipit page with illuminated titlepieceMajnūn va LayláIncipit; titlepieceThis illuminated incipit page has a titlepiece inscribed with the title of the third poem of the Khamsah, Kitāb-i Majnūn Laylī, in white ink on a gold ground.Laylá and Majnūn fall in love at schoolMajnūn va LayláIllustrationNawfal battles Laylá’s clan on behalf of MajnūnMajnūn va LayláIllustrationIncipit page with illuminated titlepieceĀyinah-i IskandarīIncipit; titlepieceThis illuminated incipit page has a titlepiece inscribed with the title of the fourth poem of the Khamsah, Kitāb-i āyinah-i Iskandarī, in white ink on a gold ground.Alexander the Great lassos a Chinese warriorĀyinah-i IskandarīIllustrationAlexander the Great entertains KanīfūĀyinah-i IskandarīIllustrationAlexander the Great confers with wise menĀyinah-i IskandarīIllustrationIskandar (Alexander the Great) confers with wise men about his intention to investigate the mysteries of the deep.Incipit page with illuminated titlepieceHasht bihishtIncipit; titlepieceThis illuminated incipit page has a titlepiece inscribed with the title of the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Kitāb-i hasht bihisht, in white ink on a gold ground.Bahrām Gūr displays his hunting skills before DilārāmHasht bihishtIllustrationBahrām Gūr in the green pavilionHasht bihishtIllustrationBahrām Gūr in the blue pavilionHasht bihishtIllustrationBahrām Gūr in the white pavilionHasht bihishtIllustration

Lacquer boards (without flap) depicting hunting scenes with a gazelle and a bear; inscription on the lower board, dated 1271 AH / 1854 CE, reads: yā Shāh Najaf (oh, King of Najaf, i.e. ʿAlī)

23 Dhū al-Qaʿdah 935 AH / 1529 CEIranFormer owner: Muḥammad ʿAlī Shīrāzī ibn […] Muḥammad Qāsim Shīrāzī, 1250[?]Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequestRelevant WorksSeyller, John. Pearls of the Parrot of India: The Walters Art Museum Khamsa of Amīr Khusraw of Delhi. (Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2001), 151.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 styleLiturgicalDevotionalScripturalTheologicalLegalHistoricalScientificScientific -- MedicalLiterary -- ProseLiterary -- PoetryPhilosophicalAstrologicalSufiEnglishBookCodexColophonIlluminationIllustrationIranIslamicManuscriptPersianWalters Art MuseumCentral AsiaLiterature -- Poetry