Saadi (Abū-Muhammad Muslih al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī), Gol - Lot 37

Lot 37
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4000 - 6000 EUR
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Saadi (Abū-Muhammad Muslih al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī), Gol - Lot 37
Saadi (Abū-Muhammad Muslih al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī), Golestan (The Rose Garden) Illuminated manuscript, 17 x 12 cm, 183 leaves, with perhaps ten original leaves missing, skilfully replaced in a handwritten facsimile and the volume is therefore textually complete. One and two columns per page, 9 lines of elegant black nasta'liq, chapter headings in gold. Written in Persian with a translation in Chagatai Turkish (old Uzbek) in smaller type between the lines. Decorated header with calligraphic panel above the first page of text, colophon on the recto of the last folio, key words, leaves decorated with black and gold lines, verses marked with groups of three red dots. Dated 940 AH (1533/34 AD), this manuscript was written in Central Asia, probably in Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan. Some old annotations and comments in the margins, a few light stains and scratches, otherwise a bright copy. Bound in modern black morocco, resewn and boxed. Saadi or Sadi of Shiraz is considered one of the most revered poets and prose writers of classical Persian literature. Golestan (Garden of Roses) is his most important collection of poems and short stories. He is also recognized as a great Sufi spiritual master, whose work and teachings have transcended national and linguistic barriers, and have been translated throughout the Middle East. This volume is written in Chagatai, a Turkic language now extinct, which was the main literary language of Turkmenistan and widely spoken in Central Asia. Used by early Mughal rulers, it began to decline in the early 20th century and was gradually replaced by modern Uzbek and Uyghur. The first manuscript of this kind to be offered on the open market in years.
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