BUKHARA, MID-16TH CENTURY

Details

LADIES REVIVING THEIR FAINTING MISTRESS
BUKHARA, MID-16TH CENTURY
Probably from the Khamsa of 'Ali Shir Nava'i, opaque pigments heightened with gold and silver on paper, 5ll. black Chagatai nasta'liq arranged in two columns above, one half line of text below, set within gold and black rules, pasted down onto a later album page between a gold and polychrome arabesque border, the blue margins illuminated with floral lattice and birds, the verso plain
Painting 4 1⁄8 x 3 ½in. (10.5 x 8.8cm.) at largest; text panel 6 ¼ x 3 ½in. (15.8 x 8.8cm.); folio 11 ¾ x 8in. (29.7 x 20.2cm.)

Provenance

Private Collection, UK, since the 1980s from which acquired by the present owner

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

‘Ali Shir Nava’i (d.1501) was a close advisor to Timurid ruler Sultan Husayn Mirza in Herat. Himself a great patron of the arts, his greatest legacy was his Chagatai language poetry at a time when Persian was the predominant language of literature. This charming illustration is similar in size and style to the illustrations from a Diwan of Nava’i which was sold in these Rooms, 7 October 2008, lot 339.

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