Double calligraphy page and illumination

mid 16th century

The poet Nizami’s stories were lavishly illustrated by Safavid Persian and Ottoman Turkish painters. But pictures, like the one of Khusrow and Shirin, told only part of the tales. This double page from Central Asia (a region wrestled back-and-forth between the Safavids and Ottomans) also tells the story of Khusrow and Shirin, using finely wrought text that, without illustration, has itself become artwork.

Ink, gold and lapis on paper

10 7/16 x 12 9/16 in. (26.5 x 31.9 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

38.25

Provenance: [J. Zado Noorian, New York, by 1937]; purchased from Mr. Noorian by Seattle Art Museum (Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection), January 6, 1938

Not currently on view

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