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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1985.216
Title
Illustrated Manuscript of the Rawda al-Ushshaq (Garden of Lovers) of Arifi
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript
Date
c. 1560
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey), Istanbul
Period
Ottoman period
Culture
Ottoman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215331

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Painting with text; ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, with stamped and gilded leather binding
Dimensions
25.1 x 17.1 x 1.3 cm (9 7/8 x 6 3/4 x 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Possibly Michel Onou, Istanbul, (late 19th century). [R.M. Light and Co., Boston, 8 October, 1976], sold; to Edwin Binney, 3rd, 1976, bequest; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1985.

Footnote:
Edwin Binney, "Turkish Treasures From the Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd", Portland Museum of Art, Portland Oregon, 1979, p.25.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard Art Museums
Accession Year
1985
Object Number
1985.216
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This is an illustrated copy of Rawda al-Ushshaq (Garden of Lovers) by Arif (also known as Arifi). Fethullah Arif Chelebi was the official court historian during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-66), the Ottoman sultan in whose reign the post had been established. Arif held this office from the early 1550s until 1561. In 1558 Arif completed the Suleymanname, the first official illustrated history of the Ottoman dynasty. This text was composed in Persian following the meter of Firdawsi’s Shahnama, and chronicled the deeds of Suleyman the Magnificent. Rawda al-Ushshaq is composed in Persian as well. After an introduction about the prophet, there is a section praising Suleyman as the ruler of Islam. The rest of the text is composed of several stories, interspersed with accounts on the virtues of speech, wisdom, and inquiry. The manuscript has sixty-six folios. The text is written in twelve lines and two columns in fine nastaliq script on gold-sprinkled paper. The manuscript contains three paintings on 23r, 29v, and 41v depicting specific stories in the text. The leather binding has gilded center and corner pieces on the outside and a single center piece on the inside. The outside is brown colored while the inside is burgundy.

Publication History

  • Edwin Binney III, Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd, exh. cat., Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, 1979), page 25-27/figure 13
  • Walter B. Denny and Aileen Ribeiro, Court and Conquest: Ottoman Origins and the Design for Handel's Tamerlano at the Glimmerglass Opera, exh. cat., Kent State University Museum (Kent State, OH, 1999), page 46/figure 51
  • Serpil Bagci, Filiz Cagman, Gunsel Renda, and Zeren Tanindi, Ottoman Painting (Istanbul, 2010), pp.110-111, figs. 71-72.
  • Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım, A Lesser-known Illustrated Manuscript of the Ottoman Court Historian Ārif: the Rawża al-‘Uššāq (The Garden of Lovers) of the Harvard Art Museums, Proceedings, 15th International Congress of Turkish Art, ed. Michele Bernardini and Alessandro Taddei (Ankara, 2018), 737-748, pp. 737-748

Exhibition History

  • The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 06/14/1987 - 08/07/1987
  • The Ottoman Empire: A Culture and Its Impact, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/25/1989 - 05/21/1989
  • Shadows of God On Earth: Arts of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Dynasties, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/21/1997 - 08/31/1997
  • Court and Conquests, Ottoman Origins and the Designs for Handel's "Tamerlano" at the Glimmerglass Opera, Equitable Gallery, New York, 11/18/1998 - 01/23/1999; Kent State University Museum, Kent, 02/17/1999 - 04/25/1999
  • 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/02/2016 - 04/26/2017

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu