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

Manuscript; Tarikhnama (Book of history) by Bal’ami, volume I; Persian in black naskh script; headings in red; 193 folios and 3 end leaf with 1 unwan (folio 1 verso), 30 paintings (1 recto, 14 verso, 37 verso, 42 verso, 47 verso, 54 verso, 62 verso, 68 verso, 75 verso, 79 verso, 83 verso, 90 verso, 107 recto, 110 recto, 116 recto, 117 verso, 118 verso, 126 recto, 129 recto, 131 recto, 132 verso, 134 recto, 138 recto, 146 verso, 157 verso, 179 verso, 182 recto, 184 recto, 192 verso), 2 stamps (fols. 2 recto, 193 verso), 4 inscriptions (fols. 125 recto, 155 recto, 156 recto, 157 recto); one of a group of 3: volume II, folios 79, and 84, bound within volume II, are accessioned separately as (F1947.19, F1930.21); standard page: 33 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript, which was bound in worn lacquer and cardboard cover, is now bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards.

View right to left

Historical period(s)
Il-Khanid dynasty, Mongol period, early 14th century
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 42.2 x 28.7 cm (16 5/8 x 11 5/16 in)
Geography
Probably Iraq
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1957.16
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Aaron, Abraham, Alexander, angel, Bahram Chubina, Bahram Gur, Balami, battle, Bilqis, Caliph Abu-Bakr, Caliph Ali, Dara, David, demon, dragon, giant, Goliath, history, Il-Khanid dynasty (1256 - 1353), illustrated, Iran, Iraq, Jonah, Joseph, Ka'ba, Kay Khusraw, Khusraw Parviz, Manuchihr, Moses, Muhammad, naskh script, Nushirvan, prophet, snake, Solomon, Tarikhnama, temple, whale, Yusuf, Zulaykha
Provenance

To 1957
K. Rabenou, New York, New York. [1]

From 1957
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from K. Rabenou, New York, New York. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

K. Rabenou

Description

Manuscript; Tarikhnama (Book of history) by Bal'ami, volume I; Persian in black naskh script; headings in red; 193 folios and 3 end leaf with 1 unwan (folio 1 verso), 30 paintings (1 recto, 14 verso, 37 verso, 42 verso, 47 verso, 54 verso, 62 verso, 68 verso, 75 verso, 79 verso, 83 verso, 90 verso, 107 recto, 110 recto, 116 recto, 117 verso, 118 verso, 126 recto, 129 recto, 131 recto, 132 verso, 134 recto, 138 recto, 146 verso, 157 verso, 179 verso, 182 recto, 184 recto, 192 verso), 2 stamps (fols. 2 recto, 193 verso), 4 inscriptions (fols. 125 recto, 155 recto, 156 recto, 157 recto); one of a group of 3: volume II, folios 79, and 84, bound within volume II, are accessioned separately as (F1947.19, F1930.21); standard page: 33 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript, which was bound in worn lacquer and cardboard cover, is now bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards.

Inscription(s)

Folio 125 recto:
"As the Prophet Muhammad, may God send greetings to him and his family, mentioned about Nushirwan's righteousness: va luddat fe [? zan] al-mulk al-adel."

Folio 155 verso:
"In the name of God, As the master of poets Nizami Ganji noted in his book "Khamsa": A patricide is not worthy of kingship thus, [?] is not becoming."

Folio 156 verso:
"In the name of God, In a dynasty that a rooster utter a cry like a fowl there is no glory."

Folio 157 verso:
Genealogy of the Prophet Muhammad.

Published References
  • Christiane Gruber. The Praiseworthy One: The Prophet Muhammad in Islamic Texts and Images. Bloomington, Indiana. pgs. 101, 112, 113, figs. 2.6, 2.11, 2.12.
  • 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. vol. 1: pl. XLVII, no. 5, XLVIII no. 53, 54.
  • Yuka Kadoi. Islamic Chinoiserie: The Art of Mongol Iran. Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art Edinburgh. .
  • Joseph Gutmann. Sacred Images: Studies in Jewish Art from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Collected studies, CS303 Northampton. fig. 3.
  • Maria Vittoria Fontana. Iconografia dell'Ahl al-Bayt: immagini di arte persiana dal XII al XX secolo. Supplemento ... agli Annali, 78, vol. 54 Naples. .
  • Philipp Walter Schulz. Die Persisch-Islamische Miniaturmalerei: Ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte Irans. 2 vols, Leipzig. vol. 1: p. 74, pls. H-K.
  • , 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.
  • Richard Ettinghausen, Ernst Kuhnel. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 6 vols., London and New York, 1938 - 1939. vol. 3: p. 1833.
  • Hagop Kevorkian. Exhibition of the Kevorkian Collection Including Objects Excavated Under His Supervision. New York. cat. 255.
  • Valerie Gonzalez. Beauty and Islam: Aesthetics in Islamic Art and Architecture. London and New York. fig. 1.
  • 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. vol. 1: pp. 114-118, vol 2: pl. 9 (a-b).
  • 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, pls. 1-2.
  • Edgar Blochet. Les Enluminures des Manuscrits Orientaux: Turcs, arabes, persans de la Bibliotheque Nationale. Paris. pp. 53, 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.
  • Mordechay Lewy. "Der apokalyptische Abessinier und die Kreuzzüge: Wandel eines frühislamischen Motivs in der Literatur und Kartografie des Mittelalters." The Apocalyptic Abyssinians and the Crusades: Transformation of an Early Islamic Motif in Literature and Cartography of the Middle Ages. Wandel eines frühislamischen Motivs in der Literatur und Kartografie des Mittelalters, Book 61 Berlin. p. 67, fig. 7.
  • Robert Hillenbrand, Dr. Chase F. Robinson, Massumeh Farhad, Sana Mirza. The Great Mongol Shahnama. New Haven, CT, January 31, 2023. p. 75, 144, fig. 3.2, 6.5.
  • Rachel Milstein. Nimrod, Joseph and Jonah: Miniatures from Ottoman Baghdad. vol. 1 Shiraz. pp. 123-138, fig. 2.
  • 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. cat. 38, p. 154.
  • Rachel Milstein. The Iconography of Moses in Islamic Art. vols. 12-13 Jerusalem, 1986-1987. pp. 199-212, fig. 3.
  • Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic World. Monographs in the Fine Arts, no. 44 University Park, Pennsylvania and London. pp. 211-16, 74, figs.2-7,pls.h-k.
  • Islamic Art and Archaeology: Collected Papers. Berlin. pp. 244-268, 284-285, fig. 2.
  • Iranian Institute of America. Guide to the Exhibition of Iranian Art. Exh. cat. New York. p. 245.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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