The Persian Miniatures Collection of the Rijksmuseum, a Hidden Treasure Trove

by Forough Sajadi

Overview

The present book offers an elaborate art historical study of the collection of Persian miniatures at the Rijkmuseum in Amsterdam. The collection includes detached folios, which are the most significant in any Dutch collection. The artworks, catalogued thorougly in this book for the first time, range in date from the thirteenth century until the early twentieth century, and cover diverse subject matters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789004716278
Publisher:	Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/19/2024
Series:	Studies in Persian Cultural History , #20
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.39(w) x 9.49(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Forough Sajadi, Ph.D. (2021), University of Warsaw, is a scholar of Islamic art at Leiden University. Her research focuses on Persian paintings in Dutch collections, and include Re-examining a Persian Miniature: Two Young Men in an Erotic Embrace (KVVAK:2022).

Table of Contents

Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Abbreviated Names of Manuscript Collections
About the Author

Introduction
 1 An Overview of the Collection
 2 History of the Collection

Historical Overview
 1 The Early Islamic Era: Pre-Mongol Period
 2 The Mongol Period
 3 The Injuid and Muzaffarid Dynasties
 4 Jalayirid Period
 5 Timurid and Turkmen Periods (the Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu)
 6 Safavid Period
 7 Post-Safavid Era

Guide to the Catalogue Entries

Part 1: Catalogue

The Early Period: The Pre-Mongol Period
 1 One Page of Khawass al-ashjar (The Characteristics of Trees)

The Mongol Period
 1 ‘Harish’, One Page of Manafiʿ al-hayawan (The Benefits of Animals)
 2 Two Pages of Kitab-i Hakim Jamasp (The Book of Jamasp the Sage)
 3 ‘Isfandiyar’s Fifth Labour: He Kills the Simurgh’, One Page of Shahnama
 4 ‘Mihr Hurmuzd Murders Khusrau Parviz’, One Page of Shahnama

The Timurid and Turkmen Period
 1 ‘The Second Combat: Giv Stuns Guruy Zirih’, One Page of Shahnama
 2 ‘Minuchihr Defeats the Army of Salm and Tur’, One Page of Shahnama
 3 ‘Khusrau Receives Gul’s Letter’, One Page of Khusraunama
 4 ‘Rustam Kills Shaghad before Dying’, One Page of Shahnama
 5 ‘Shiruya Sends a Message to Khusrau Parviz’, One Page of Shahnama
 6 ‘Rustam’s Seventh Labour: He Kills the White Div’, One Page from Shahnama
 7 ‘A Convivial Gathering in the Garden’, One Page of Dīvān of Shahi
 8 ‘Meeting the Intimate in the Garden’, One Page of Fatihat al-shabab
 9 Two Pages of Khamsa of Nizami
 10 Two Detached Pages, Depictions of Majnun

The Safavid Period
 1 ‘Muhammad Converses with God in Heaven’, One Page of Mirajnama
 2 Three Pages of Mihr u Mushtari (The Sun and Jupiter)
 3 ‘Mahan and the Old Gardener’, One Page of Khamsa of Nizami
 4 ‘Khusrau and Shirin in Hunting Ground’, One Page of Khamsa of Nizami
 5 ‘Rustam’s First Labour: Rakhsh Kills a Lion’, One Page of Shahnama
 6 ‘Kay Khusrau Grants an Audience to Rustam and Zal’, One Page of Shahnama
 7 ‘Solomon and Ajenna’, One Page of ʿAja‌ʾib al-makhluqat (Wonders of Creation)
 8 Four Pages of Dīvān of Hafiz
 9 ‘Seduction of Yusuf by Zulaikha’, One Page of Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones)
 10 Three Pages of Rawzat al-shuhada (Garden of the Martyrs)
 11 ‘A Man in a Robe’, One Page of Dīvān of Hafiz
 12 ‘Isfandiyar’s Fifth Labour: He Kills the Simurgh’, One Page of Shahnama
 13 ‘A Youth and Two Dervishes’
 14 ‘A Sitting Man’
 15 ‘A Lion Attacking a Man’
 16 ‘A Youth and a Dervish’
 17 ‘A Youth Holding a Cup’

Post-Safavid: The Zand, Afsharid and Qajar Periods
 1 ‘Standing Woman with Flowers and a Bowl’
 2 Two Architectural Scenes
 3 ‘A Dervish Holding a Vase’
 4 ‘Two Young Men in an Erotic Embrace’
 5 Five Pages of the Khamsa of Nizami
 6 ‘Hunting Scene’
 7 Two Pages of Gulzar Calligraphy
Appendix: Selected Miniatures Attributed to India
Bibliography
Index