Second volume of a Tarikhnama (Book of history) by Bal’ami (died ca. 992-997)

Manuscript; Tarikhnama (Book of history) by Bal’ami, volume II; Persian in black naskhi script; headings in red; 205 folios with 8 paintings (fols. 18 recto, 30verso, 53 recto, 61verso, 84 recto, 97 recto, 158 recto, 181verso); blank folios:1-12 and 188-205; seal; marginalia (fols. 168 recto, 183 recto); marginal corrections (fols. 97 recto, 141 recto, 161 recto, 179 recto); one of a group of 3: volume I, folios 79, and 84, bound within volume II, are accessioned separately as (F1957.16, F1930.21); standard page:33 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript, which was bound in a worn leather cover, is now bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards; the lower and upper covers both have a border of multiple fillets.

View right to left

Historical period(s)
Il-Khanid dynasty, Mongol period, early 14th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 41.2 x 29 cm (16 1/4 x 11 7/16 in)
Geography
Probably Iraq
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1947.19
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Balami, battle, Caliph Ali, history, Il-Khanid dynasty (1256 - 1353), illustrated, Iraq, Muhammad, naskh script, prophet, Tarikhnama
Provenance

To 1947
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York. [1]

From 1947
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Hagop Kevorkian 1872-1962

Description

Manuscript; Tarikhnama (Book of history) by Bal'ami, volume II; Persian in black naskhi script; headings in red; 205 folios with 8 paintings (fols. 18 recto, 30verso, 53 recto, 61verso, 84 recto, 97 recto, 158 recto, 181verso); blank folios:1-12 and 188-205; seal; marginalia (fols. 168 recto, 183 recto); marginal corrections (fols. 97 recto, 141 recto, 161 recto, 179 recto); one of a group of 3: volume I, folios 79, and 84, bound within volume II, are accessioned separately as (F1957.16, F1930.21); standard page:33 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript, which was bound in a worn leather cover, is now bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards; the lower and upper covers both have a border of multiple fillets.

Inscription(s)

Folio 168recto: Historical account on Abbaseh's love for Ja'far Barmaki.

Folio 183recto: Historical account on characteristics of Mu'tasem Belah.

Published References
  • Encyclopædia Iranica. 14 vols., London and Boston. vol. 1: fasc. 9: pp. 971-972.
  • Philipp Walter Schulz. Die Persisch-Islamische Miniaturmalerei: Ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte Irans. 2 vols, Leipzig. vol. 1: p. 74, pls. H-K, 2.
  • , Eva Baer, David Nicolle, Barbara Schmitz, Oliver Watson. The Art of the Saljuqs in Iran and Anatolia. Costa Mesa, California. fig. 159.
  • Rachel Milstein. Biblical Themes in Islamic Painting., 1st ed. Paris. figs. 30-31.
  • Georges Marteau, Henri Vever. Miniatures Persanes: tirees des collections de M.M. Henry d'Allemagne, Claude Anet, Henri Aubrey... 2 vols., Paris, June-October 1912. cat. 52, 53, 54, vol. 1: pls.XLVII-XLVIII.
  • A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 15 vols., , Reissue with corrigenda and addenda. London and New York. vol. 5: p. 1833.
  • Hagop Kevorkian. Exhibition of the Kevorkian Collection Including Objects Excavated Under His Supervision. New York. cat. 255.
  • Freer Gallery of Art. Gallery Book II: Exhibition of August 19, 1933. Washington. .
  • Teresa Fitzherbert. Bal'ami's Tabari: An Illustrated Manuscript of Bal'ami's Tarjama-yi Tarikh-i Tabari in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington. 2 vols. University of Edinburgh. .
  • Hagop Kevorkian. Special Exhibition: The Arts of Persia and Other Countries of Islam: H. Kevorkian Collection. New York, April 22 - May 15, 1926. p. 3.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Islamic Women as Rulers and Patrons. vol. 5, no. 2 New York, Spring 1993. pp. 4-5, fig. 1.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Exhibition of 2500 Years of Persian Art. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 9, p. 4.
  • Claude Anet. Exhibition of Persian Miniatures at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. vol. 22, no. 115 London, October 1912. pp. 11, D, 15.
  • Kurt Holter. Die Islamischen Miniaturhandschriften vor 1350. Leipzig. cat. 38, p. 16.
  • Na'ama Brosh, Rachel Milstein. Biblical Stories in Islamic Painting. Exh. cat. Jerusalem. cat. 45, 69, 78, 88, pp. 30, 35-6, 38.
  • Eric Schroeder. Persian Miniatures in the Fogg Museum of Art. Cambridge, Massachusetts. p. 31.
  • Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson, Basil Gray. Persian Miniature Painting: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March 1931. Exh. cat. Oxford, January - March 1931. p. 31.
  • Edgar Blochet. Les Enluminures des Manuscrits Orientaux: Turcs, arabes, persans de la Bibliotheque Nationale. Paris. pp. 52-3, 181, pls. 1, 2.
  • C.A. Storey, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey. 3 vols., London. p. 63.
  • Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic World. Monographs in the Fine Arts, no. 44 University Park, Pennsylvania and London. pp. 74, 217, pls. H, J, K.
  • H. Buchtal, O. Kurz, Richard Ettinghausen. Supplemantary Notes to K. Holter's Check List of Islamic Illuminated Manuscripts before A.D. 1350. vol. 7, no. 2 Ann Arbor. no. 38, p. 154.
  • Islamic Art and Archaeology: Collected Papers. Berlin. pp. 244-68,284-5, fig. 2.
  • Iranian Institute of America. Guide to the Exhibition of Iranian Art. Exh. cat. New York. p. 245, case 3c.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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