Divan (Collected Works) of Jami

Scene in a Mosque, Folio 132 recto)


The period within which the manuscript must have been completed has been determined by the calligrapher's family history and by other dated works that were copied by himself and his relatives. A terminus ante quem for the date was also established by Jami's rearrangement of his collected poems in 1479[1].

The miniatures are in the style of a relatively large number of manuscripts, principally from Shiraz, that has been designated "commercial Turkoman" because they seem to have been produced in the bazaar, rather than in court workshops. In this style the figures, solid of body and with relatively large heads, are generally stereotyped, although well drawn. The grass-tufted landscape is provided with a few standard plant clumps, while patterns tend to be somewhat repetitive and slapdash. In spite of these limitations the miniatures, as here, are often lively and colorful with an appealing directness. This painting illustrates the verse that reads in translaton: "The student of thy love sets not his feet on the steps of the mosque." The disregard for reality, in western eyes, that combines architectural elements of the mosque's interior with an outdoor setting may be the artist's way of interpreting the verse, transcending the apparent laws of nature as the mystic's love of God transcends the bounds of formal religion.

Marie Lukens Swietochowski in [Berlin 1981]


Notes:

1. Jackson, A.V. and A. Yohannan. A Catalogue of the Collection of Persian Manuscripts, Including also some Turkish and Arabic, Presented to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York by Alexander Smith Cochran. New York, 1914.



The Shepherd Takes Majnun to the Tent of Laila, Folio 138 verso of the Divan of Jami

The very fine nasta'liq script of this manuscript was the work of a member of a family of noted calligraphers. The painting style is associated with the city of Shiraz, where a large number of illustrated manuscripts were produced and which was, at this period, under the political and cultural domination of the White Sheep (Aq Quyunlu) Turkman Federation. As here, the colors are strong and clear, the figures sturdy, the composition reduced to essentials which can be understood in a glance. There is a consistent convention for scattered grass tufts, for plants, seen in profile or from a bird's eye view, and for trees, with the foliage in bunches with a lighter shade at the edges. The very directness of the presentation of this miniature adds to its considerable appeal.

The miniatures were added later than the copying of the text which can be estimated according to the family history of the calligrapher, and the poet's arrangement of his works, and are consistent in style with other paintings dating from the last decade or so of the fifteenth century.

Marie Lukens Swietochowski in [Walker et al. 1994]

Alexander Smith Cochran, Yonkers, NY (until 1913; gifted to MMA)

Berlin. Museum für Islamische Kunst, Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. "The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the M.M.A.," June 15, 1981–August 8, 1981, no. 70.

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 16.

Jackson, A. V. Williams, and A. Yohannan. Catalogue of the Collection of Persian Manuscripts, Including also some Turkish and Arabic, Presented to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York by Alexander Smith Cochran. Columbia University Indo Iranian Series, vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1912. no. 17, pp. 140–45.

Valentiner, William Reinhold. "The Cochran Collection of Persian Manuscripts." Museum of Metropolitan Art Bulletin, old series, vol. 8 (1913). pp. 80–86.

Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930. pp. 32–33, ill. fig. 10 (b/w).

Dimand, Maurice S. Persian Miniatures. A Picture Book. Metropolitan Museum of Art Picture Books. New York, 1940. ill. fig. 12 (b/w), folio 1b.

"A Shah-Nama of 1482." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., vol. II, no. 3 (November 1943). pp. 130–31, ill. (b/w).

Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Muhammadan Art. 2nd rev. and enl. ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. p. 40, ill. fig. 22 (b/w).

"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 70, pp. 178–79, ill. p. 179 (b/w).

Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 1 (1985). p. 124, ill. (b/w), fascicle 1.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahil, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 16, pp. 76–77, ill. (b/w).