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Identification and Creation

Object Number
14.2015.3
Title
The right half of the illuminated frontispiece (illuminated sarlawh verso, blank recto of folio 3), from a manuscript of prayers
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: Manuscript of prayers
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
dated 1837
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Iran
Period
Qajar period
Culture
Persian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/368607

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
Dimensions
17 x 10.5 cm (6 11/16 x 4 1/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), loan; to Harvard Art Museums, 2015.

Note:
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Loan from A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar
Object Number
14.2015.3
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
The small manuscript opens with a minutely illuminated double-page frontispiece. The text is copied 15 lines to a page in naskh by ‘Alī Aṣghar b. Muḥammad Shafī‘ al-Arsanjānī in H. 1253 (1837). The manuscript comprises 127 folios, including 4 flyleaves. It contains 80 illuminated headings, one at the beginning of each prayer. All text folios are embellished with interlinear gilding. The manuscript is made for the servant, the humble Aqā Mullā Aḥmad son of the late Karbalā’i Muḥammad ‘Alī Shīrāzī. The leather binding is decorated with gold painted borders and stamped, painted and inlaid central and corner pieces, bearing flower paintings in green and purple/crimson. Inside covers are light brown plain leather with gold borders.

Related Works

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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