The Development of the Illustrated Book in Iran

Author(s): Sheila S. Blair

Source: Muqarnas, Vol. 10, Essays in Honor of Oleg Grabar (1993), pp. 266-274
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 SHEILA S. BLAIR
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK IN IRAN
It is well known thatthe traditionof the illustratedbook
flourishedin Iran fromthe fourteenthcenturyto the six-
teenth, when the taste for illustratedbooks was trans-
formed into one for illustratedfolios suitable forcollec-
tion in albums, but the reasons why the tradition
developed at this particular time are still unclear. The
florescence of manuscriptproduction was undoubtedly
part of the cultural revivalthat took place under the I1-
khanids, the Mongol dynastythat ruled Mesopotamia
and Iran from1258 to 1336, and theiracquaintance with
the Chinese traditionof the illustratedscroll led to the
introduction of new stylisticand iconographic features
to an already established traditionof illustratedbooks in
the Islamic lands. The stylisticchanges are familiar,but
the evolving relationship between text and image has
attracted less attention from scholars. Lisa Golombek
made an earlyattemptto classifydifferenttypesof illus-
trated manuscripts,' and the subject of why the illus-
tratedbook became such an importantaestheticand cul-
tural form in the Iranian world from the fourteenth
century onward deserves discussion in a volume dedi-
cated to Oleg Grabar,forhe is a pioneer who broadened
the field of Persian painting from the identificationof
individual paintings and hands to the studyof the illus-
trated book as the work of art. By examining in chron-
ological order the manuscripts that can be securely
dated and attributedto metropolitan centers of the I1-
khanid realm, it becomes clear how the patronage, size,
and functionof illustratedbooks changed at the begin-
ning of the fourteenthcentury.2
The traditionof illustratedbooks had floweredin the
Arab worldin the twelfthand thirteenthcenturies,reach-
ing its full gloryin the second quarter of the thirteenth
centuryat Baghdad.3 Texts illustratedare mainlyscien-
tific manuals, animal fables, and belles-lettres(Arab.
adab).4 The illustrationsgenerallyfallinto twocategories,
both derived from the classical tradition:full-pagefron-
tispieces showing the author and/or donor, and small,
square, or rectangular paintings inserted in the text to
illustratewhat is described nearby.Only rarely,as in the
twosuperb copies of al-Hariri'sMaqdmatdone in the sec-
ond quarter of the thirteenthcentury(Leningrad, Acad-
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emyof Sciences, S23; undated; page size: 25 x 19cm.; and
Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, arabe 5847, dated 634
[1237]; page size: 37 x 28cm.), do the illustrationsgo be-
yond the literal requirements of the text and provide
visual commentaries on it.5-In the incident from the
tenthmaqdmain whichAbu Zaydfalselyaccuses hisson in
frontof the governorof Rahba, for example, the depic-
tion in the Paris manuscriptof the coy youth,the lecher-
ous official,and the glib scoundrel approaches satire.6
We have littleinformationabout the waythese illustrated
manuscriptswere produced, but the fact that the same
person,Yahya b. Mahmud al-Wasiti,wroteand illustrated
the 1237 copy of the Maqdmdtsuggeststhattherewas little
specializationin thewaytheywere made. We are similarly
uninformedabout theirpatrons:some, such as the multi-
volume Kitdb al-Aghdni(dispersed) with frontispieces
showing an enthroned ruler whose sleeve bands are
labeled Badr al-Din Lu'lu', mayhave been commissioned
by local princes, while others, such as the numerous
copies of the Maqdmdt,may have been made "on spec"
fora bourgeois audience.
The same kinds of illustratedmanuscriptswere prob-
ably also produced in the Persian-speakingworld, al-
though on a more limited scale according to scattered
textualreferences.In his historyof the Seljuqs, Rahadtal-
suduirwa aydtal-surur(Recreation of the Breast and Sym-
bol ofJoy)composed in 599 (1202), forexample, the his-
torian al-Ravandi mentions that in 1184-85 the Seljuq
sultan Tughril II wanted the author's uncle to compose
and transcribean anthologyof poems and thatupon its
completion Jamal, the painter of Isfahan, illuminated
and illustratedthe volume with portraitsof the poets
cited.' Only one illustratedmanuscriptis known to have
survived: a copy of Ayyuqi'sromantic mathnavi,Warqa
and Gulshah(Istanbul, Topkapi Palace Library,H. 841).8
It can be attributedto Konya ca. 1250 on the basis of the
artist'sname, forthe sixty-first
paintingis signed byCAbd
al-Mu'min b. Muhammad, the painter of Khoy,who is
also mentioned in the endowment text of the Karatay
madrasa in Konya (1251).9 The paintings are generally
small blocks withseveral figuresarranged symmetrically,
and theirstyleis similar to that of contemporaryenam-
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ILLUSTRATED
eled and luster ceramics. The presence of labels on the
figuressuggest that the actual audience was unfamiliar
withthe narrativetradition.
The Mongol invasionsapparentlydid not put an end
to the styleof painting that had flourishedin Mesopota-
mia in the earlythirteenthcentury,forperhaps the finest
example of the Baghdad styleis found in a manuscriptof
the Rasdail Ikhwanal-Safd~(The Epistles of the Sincere
Brethren) copied in 1287 (Istanbul, Libraryof the Siiley-
maniyeMosque, Esad Efendi 3638). The manuscriptcon-
tains a traditional,double-page frontispiece(fols. 3v-4r;
writtenarea 25 x 17cm.; painted area 20 x 17cm.) depict-
ing the five authors seated in a brick arcade and sur-
rounded by scribes, students,and servants.Traditional
too is the symmetricalarrangementof the architectural
settingand the rich patterningof draperyfolds. The for-
mal compositions are enlivened by the vigorous interac-
tion of the figureswhich creates a sense of space and by
the brilliantpalette of blue, brown,black, and gold.'o
In the last decade of the thirteenthcentury,Mesopota-
mian artistsbegan to absorb Far Eastern elements,as can
be seen in two Persian manuscriptswhich can also be
attributed to Baghdad: a copy of CAta Malik Juvayni's
Tdrikh-iJahdn-gushd(History of the World Conqueror)
finishedby Rashid al-Khwafiin Dhu'l-Hijja 689 (Decem-
ber 1290) (Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, suppl. pers.
205) and a copy of Sa'd al-Din Varamini's Marzubdn-
ndmacompleted byal-Murtadib. Abi Tahir b. Ahmad al-
Kashi in the eastern districtof Baghdad on 10 Ramadan
698 (19 May 1299) (Istanbul, Archaeology Museum
Library 216)." The illustrations to both manuscripts
include new featuresof landscape such as Chinese-style
clouds and grassyswathes and of figural stylesuch as
looped coiffeursand overlapped robes. Yet the illustra-
tions are still traditionalin termsof the relationship of
image to text,as theyare all essentiallyfrontispieces.The
double-page illustrationin theJuvaynimanuscript (fols.
Iv-2r) shows a squatting groom leading a caparisoned
horse on the rightand a scribe seated beneath a tree tak-
ing dictation from a standing figure in a flowered coat
on the left.The three illustrationsin the Marzubdn-ndma
are variationson the author or donor portrait:the first
(fol. 2r) shows the Prophet, to whom the work is dedi-
cated, enthroned beneath two angels; the second (fol.
5r) shows the author describing his literaryinspiration;
and the third (fol. 7r) shows the patron who had com-
missioned the text in the early thirteenth century,
enthroned and surrounded by courtiers. We do not
know forwhom these two manuscriptswere made. The
Marzubdn-ndma maywell have been made forthe market,
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BOOK IN IRAN 267
as the dedicatory rosette (fol. Ir) is still empty. The
Juvaynimanuscript was copied withina decade of the
death of the author,who was a historianand governorof
Baghdad from1259 to 1282, and the figuresin the fron-
tispiece represent contemporary people: the author,
identifiedbya later hand as CAlaal-Din Sahib Divan, and
his Mongol overlord,eitherthe Ilkhanid rulerHulagu or
his viceroyAmirArghun.
Given the Mongol habit of seasonal migration,it is no
surprise that illustratedmanuscriptswere produced at
the same time at another Ilkhanid capital, Maragha, as
attestedbya copy of Ibn Bakhtishu'sMandfizal-HIawaydn
(Advantages of Animals) finished sometime between
1297 and 1300 (New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
M500).j2 The text describing the nature and habits of
man, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, and aquatic ani-
mals is a scientifictreatise like that of Dioscurides on
plants,and the illustrations,like those in the contempo-
rary manuscriptsmade at Baghdad, integrate new Far
Eastern motifsinto the traditionalMesopotamian style.
What is significantabout the manuscript for our pur-
poses is that is shows the increasing interestin the pro-
duction of luxurymanuscriptson the part of the Ilkha-
nid court. According to the preface, Sultan Ghazan
ordered the text translatedfromArabic to Persian and
entrusted the work to CAbd al-Hadi b. Muhammad b.
Mahmud b. Ibrahim of Maragha. According to the ex-
librison folio 2r,thiscopywas writtenand illuminatedfor
Shams al-Din b. Ziya al-Din al-Zushaki. He is otherwise
unknown, but his titlessuggest that he was a person of
some importance,and the ex-libris shows that the manu-
script was a specific commission.
Many of the novel featuresof these three illustrated
manuscriptsdone in the 1290s - new historicalsubjects,
representationsof contemporaryfigures,and patronage
by important individuals associated with the Ilkhanid
court - are furtherdeveloped in a manuscriptmade in
the followingdecade: a copy of al-Biruni'sAthdr-i Baqiya'
(ChronologyofAncientNations) penned byIbn al-Kutbi
in 1307-8 (Edinburgh, UniversityLibrary,arab 161).13
The text,writtensome three centuries earlier,discusses
various calendrical systems,and the twenty-four pictures
illustratesome of the historicalevents that occurred in
connection with these calendars. The firsttwenty-two
illustrationsare heavilydependent on the earlier Meso-
potamian school. They (fig. 1) are small rectangular
paintings with simple, symmetricalcompositions. The
haloed figureswear traditionalturbansand robes which
fallin stylizedpatterns.Only a fewmotifssuch as the con-
voluted clouds and colored ground are new.
268 SHEILA S. BIAIR

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Fig.1.The Prophetwiththeenvoys ofMusailama.Fol.92rfroma Fig.2. The investiture

ofCAliat GhadirKhumm.Fol. 162rfroma
manuscript of al-Biruni's Baqiya?copiedin 1307-8.Edin-
Athar-i manuscript of al-Biruni's
Athar-i copiedin 1307-8.Edin-
Baqiya",
burghUniversity Arab161.(Photo:courtesy
Library, EdinburghUni- burghUniversity Arab161.(Photo:courtesy
Library, Edinburgh Uni-
versity
Library) versityLibrary)

Quite differentin subjectand styleare the last two thiswas the firsttimethata Shicitepointof viewhad
illustrations
whichdeal withMuslimfestivals, "The Day been manifested pictorially."
of Cursing"and "The Investitureof CAliat Ghadir In additiontobeinglargerand squarerin formatthan
Khumm"(fols.161rand 162r;fig.2). The subjectscho- the firsttwenty-two paintingsin the manuscript,
these
sen forillustration
supporttheclaimsofCAlias successor two paintingsare different in styleand iconography.
to the ProphetMuhammad.These werenot eventsof Theyuse a brighter redand goldclouds
palette.Swirling
popular interest,but ones used by theologiansas evi- are setagainsta darkblue skyto enhancethedramaof
dence oftheProphet'sdesignationofCAlias hisrightful the twoscenes.Recedinggroundlineswithgrassytufts
heir.The compositions emphasizethesectariansubject. createa sense of space, whereasin mostof the other
In "The DayofCursing"Husaynis nestledin thearmsof paintings, largefiguresare set againsta backdropon a
his fatherCAli;in "The Investiture of CAliat Ghadir flatbaselineand overwhelmthe limitedlandscape.In
Khumm,"theProphetreachesout and touchesCAlion thelasttwopaintings, thefiguresoftheProphetand his
the shoulder.Soucek has pointedout thatthe literary familydominate the compositions,and the direct
traditionextollingCAlihad existedforsome time,but glancesamongthemunitethefigures.Soucek'scareful

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 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ILLUSTRATED
analysishas shown that iconographic details such as the
cloak over the Prophet's head and the braided hair of
the Prophet and his familyalso set these twoillustrations
apart fromthe others.
The differencesin these twolast paintingscannot sim-
plybe attributedto another hand who added them after
the otherswere done, forthe differencein formatshows
that when the manuscriptwas copied, the decision had
already been taken to distinguishthese twoillustrations.
One must thereforeask what made these two paintings
so importantfor the scribe/illustratorand the patron
and audience. The answer,I believe, is thattheyillustrate
a subject of immediate contemporary interest. A few
yearsbefore the manuscriptwas copied, the leading Shi-
Citetheologian of the day,Ibn Mutahhar al-Hilli,known
as CAllama-iHilli (the sage of Hilla), had come fromhis
native town in Iraq to the court of the Ilkhanid sultan
Uljaytu. The scholar was the author of numerous trea-
tises on all branches of Islamic learning, and his works
on Shicismare regarded by TwelverShicitesas the most
authentic exposition of dogma and practice. While at
the Ilkhanid court,he engaged in debates withthe lead-
ing Sunni theologians.'5The sultan, who had been bap-
tised a Christian but converted to Sunni Islam, was ap-
parentlyinterestedin such topics and often summoned
the theologians for lively discussions after dinner. He
even had a mobile madrasa which traveledwithhis camp
so that he could keep up withtheological debates while
traveling.CAllama-iHilli was successfulin presentinghis
point of view,for the sultan officiallyconverted to Shi-
Cismin early 1310,6 two years after Ibn Kutbi finished
copying the al-Biruni manuscript.'7Illustrationsof his-
torical eventswere thus used to make polemic commen-
tarieson currentevents.
The al-Birunimanuscriptcontains no indication of its
place of production or its original owner,but the styleof
the paintings allows it to be firmlyattributedto an I1-
khanid capital, and the firstdecade of the fourteenth
centurywas exactlythe time when the Ilkhanid court in
Mesopotamia and Iran began to order large and lavishly
illuminated manuscriptsof the Qur'an whose size, for-
mat, and sheer splendor mark a turningpoint in manu-
script production.'8 Baghdad had been a center for the
production of Qur'an manuscriptsat the end of the thir-
teenth century,and the most famous scribe there,Yaqut
al-MustaCsimi(d. 1298), was often called the "cynosure
of calligraphers." Despite the refinementof his hand
and the desirabilityof his works,his Qur~an manuscripts
are generally in one volume and of small format.The
folios average 35 x 24cm.,19and one copied in 1289 is
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BOOK IN IRAN 269
even smaller (19 x 15cm.)20 In contrast, the imperial
Qur an manuscriptsdating fromthe firsttwodecades of
the fourteenthcenturyare thirty-volume sets oflarge for-
mat. The folios average 53 x 38cm.,21and one made for
Sultan Uljaytubetween 1306 and 1313 measures a whop-
ping 72 x 50cm.22 In addition to the expense in procur-
ing such large sheets of paper, it must have required a
great deal of time and money to pen the majestic
muhaqqaqor rayhadniscript and to execute the fine illumi-
nation, much of it in gold.
These fineQur'an manuscriptswere commissioned by
the Ilkhanid sultans or theirviziersand often endowed
to the patron's funerarycomplex. Named sites of pro-
duction include Baghdad, Mosul, Tabriz,and Hamadan.
The only Ilkhanid scriptoriumknown to us in detail,
however, is that founded by the vizier Rashid al-Din.
According to the endowment deed for his quarter out-
side of Tabriz, the Rabc-iRashidi, various manuscriptsin
both Arabic and Persian were to be transcribedyearly.
They were to be done in neat scripton good Baghdadi
paper, carefullycollated with the original that was kept
in the libraryat the Rabc-iRashidi, and bound in leather.
The finishedvolumes were to be displayed in the qibla
iwan of the mosque, registeredat thejudiciary in Tabriz,
and distributedthroughout the Ilkhanid realms. Some
of the manuscriptswere produced at the Rabc-i Rashidi
itself,for slaves were assigned to calligraphy,painting,
and gilding. Other copies must have been produced
elsewhere,forthe Baghdadi biographerIbn al-Fuwati(d.
1323) records meeting a masterpainter and illuminator
workingon a book of Rashid al-Din's while in the sultan's
camp in Arran.23The endowment stipulates for the
annual copying of several types of texts,and surviving
manuscriptswhich can be attributedto the scriptorium
include a compendium of tracts entitled Majmu'a al-
Rashfdiyya copied by Muhammad b. al-CAfif al-Kashiand
illuminated by Muhammad b. Mahmud b. Muhammad
al-Aminal-Baghdadi in 1310 (Paris, Bibliotheque Nation-
ale, arabe 2324),24a volume froma Qur'an dated Safar
715/April 1315,25and fragmentarycopies of the vizier's
history,the Jdmical-Tavarikh(Compendium of Histo-
ries), in both Persian (Istanbul, Topkapi Palace Library,
H. 1653 and 1654)26 and Arabic (Edinburgh, University
Library,ms. Arab 20, and London, Nour Collection,
ex-RoyalAsiaticSociety).27
The vizier,who was executed in 1318, epitomizes the
Ilkhanid interestin writinghistory.Although the Islamic
world had a long traditionof historywriting,David Mor-
gan has shown that three thingshappened to historical
writingin the Mongol period: it proliferated,it was writ-
270 SHEILA S. BLAIR
ten in Persian instead of Arabic, and it covered a wider
scope. Changes in attitude were necessary not only
because of the devastationscaused by the Mongol con-
quests, but also because forthe firsttime in six centuries
Persia was ruled by non-Muslims,a contradictionto the
Muslim view of the irreversiblemarch of divinelydeter-
mined history.Morgan illustratedhis argumentby com-
paring three historianswho coped withthe Mongol phe-
nomenon in differentways:Juzjani (1193-after 1265),
who experienced the Mongol devastations and fled to
the Delhi Sultanate, where he recounted all theiratroc-
ities but also credited their virtues;Juvayni(1226-83),
who was in service to the Mongols and gave a more flat-
teringpicture,justifyingthe Mongols as instrumentsof
God'sjudgment on His sinfulpeople; and Rashid al-Din
(1247-1318), the principal statesman of Mongol Persia
who had the benefit of a wider perspective and pre-
sented an officialjustificationforthe Mongol role in his-
tory.28
Morgan based his conclusions on the textsthat these
three wrote, but a look at their illustrationsalso shows
how the view of historyevolved in the Mongol period.
No copy ofJuzjani'smajor work,Tabaqdt-iNdSii, survives
from the period, and the sole contemporary copy of
Juvayni'sTdrikh-iJahdn-gushd only has an illustratedfron-
tispiece, but the works of Morgan's third historian,
Rashid al-Din's Jdmical-Tavdrikh, show the full effectof
how historical manuscriptswere used for polemic pur-
poses.
AllthecopiesofRashidal-Din's
Jdmic are
al-Tavarikh
manuscripts
large-format (typicalwritten
area 36 x
25cm.) withnumerous illustrationsthatare either large
squares or more often rectangles occupying the full
widthof the writtenspace. In comparison to the 1307 al-
Biruni, these manuscripts are substantiallybigger with
more and larger illustrations arranged in specific
cycles.29The styleof the paintingsalso differsfromthat
in other manuscriptsof the period, for the illustrations
are line drawingsenlivened withcolored washes, a tech-
nique derived from Chinese scrolls. This distinctstyle
inspired at least one provincialcopy,an anthologyof po-
ems copied by CAbd al-Mu'min al-CAlawial-Kashi in
1314-15 (London, India OfficeLibrary,ms. 132).30
By the second decade of the fourteenthcentury,then,
the stage was set in Iran forthe florescence of a tradition
of illustratedmanuscripts.Patrons included the highest-
ranking members of the Ilkhanid court who commis-
sioned manuscripts and personally oversaw their pro-
duction. The manuscripts they ordered were signifi-
cantly bigger, making larger and more elaborate
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illustrationspossible. These paintingswere executed in a
new style which incorporated Far Eastern motifsand
even techniques and, more important,the subjects for
illustrationwere deliberately chosen because of their
parallels in Ilkhanid life. The paintings were not only
narrative,but commentarieson contemporaryevents.In
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, patrons had
ordered luxury ceramics and metalwares with specific
scenes;31in the fourteenthcenturytheyturned to books
and ordered illustratedhistorieswhose paintingscould
be used to justifytheir own positions. Illustratedbooks
had become didactic worksof art.
The step that remained was to extend this rhetorical
use of illustratedmanuscripts from histories to epics.
The major survivingmanuscriptof the followinggener-
ation is a monumental two-volumecopy of the Shdhndma
(some 300 folios; writtensurface 41 x 29cm.), probably
done forRashid al-Din's son Ghiyathal-Din in 1335-36.32
It shows the adaptation of a standard metropolitanstyle
to specificideological and privatepurposes, and manyof
its illustrationscan be interpretedas reflectionsof con-
temporaryevents. Certain cycles were singled out for
illustration.The Alexander sequence, for example, has
seventeen illustrationsin fifteenfolios. As a cyclewhich
underscores the rightof foreignersto rule Iran, itwould
have had great resonance with the Mongols. Other
scenes such as the "Enthronement of Zav" (fig. 3),
whose five-monthreign is totallyinsignificantin the text,
maywell have had special meaning to the Ilkhanid audi-
ence. One of the more elaborate enthronementscenes
in the manuscript,its shows the king, a descendant of
Faridun, seated on his thronewithhis ministerZal at his
side. Surely the painting is a pictorial allusion to the
importantrole played by such Persian viziersas Ghiyath
al-Din in raising Ilkhanid claimants to the throne. The
white-beardedZal, who is also depicted in another paint-
ing illustratinga minor episode in the text,"The Mubids
interrogatingZal" (fig.4), mayeven representthe Ilkha-
nid patron.
According to the oft-quotedstatementby the Safavid
chronicler Dust Muhammad, the reign of Abu Sacid
(1317-35) was the moment when portraiturewas intro-
duced into Persian painting and "Master Ahmad Musa
liftedthe veil fromthe face of depiction, and the [style
of] depiction that is now [i.e., in the mid-sixteenthcen-
tury] currentwas invented by him."'33The statementis
part of Dust Muhammad's preface outlining the devel-
opment of calligraphyand paintingforan album of cal-
ligraphic specimens and paintings which he prepared
for the Safavid prince Bahram Mirza in 1544 (Istanbul,
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK IN IRAN 271

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Fig. 3. Shah Zav,son of Tahmasp,enthroned.Detached foliofromthe DemotteShahnama,ca. 1335.Washington,D.C., ArthurM. Sackler

Gallery,S1986.0107,ex-VeverCollection. (Photo: courtesyArthurM. SacklerGallery,SmithsonianInstitution,
Washington,D.C.)

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272
: .I
t."
.i
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?:
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'J*
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Nt
Fig.4. The Mubidsinterrogating
Zal. Detached foliofromtheDemotteShahnama,
Arts,Boston. (Photo: courtesyMuseumof Fine Arts,Boston).
Topkapi Palace Library,H. 1654). The author was a
scribe in the royal workshop of the Safavid Shah Tah-
masp, and the workshop's major project in the earlysix-
teenth century had been the preparation of a monu-
mental Shdhndmamanuscriptforthe Safavidmonarch.34
The manuscript contains 258 large paintings,many of
them almost full page, including two added on heavier,
creamier paper. One of the twoadditions, "The Storyof
Haftvad and the Worm" (fol. 521v), is inscribed in the
margin below "Painted by Dust Muhammad," and S. C.
Welch has attributedthe workto ca. 1540. Hence it is no
surprisethatsome fouryears later,the calligrapherand
painter referredback to the early fourteenthcentury
when the traditionof royal Shdhndmamanuscriptsused
forpersonal purposes seems to have been inaugurated."35
This tradition is clearly perpetuated in the fanciest
manuscripts produced in the fifteenthcentury. The
Shdhndmacopied at Herat in 1430 (Tehran, Gulistan Pal-
ace Library,no. 61) for the Timurid prince Baysunghur
b. Shahrukh, probably the greatest Iranian bibliophile,
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SHEILA S. BLAIR
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let t~l7w
T ,?e:4f I~?8
ca. 1335.Denman Waldo RossCollection,MuseumofFine
contains only twenty-onepaintings,including a double-
page frontispiece.9 The paintings do not illustrate
scenes common in other fifteenth-century manuscripts,
such as "Bahram Gur and Azada" or "Kay Khusraw in a
Snowstorm," but show unusual events which can be
related to the lifeof the patron. The frontispiece,forex-
ample, does not depict a king enthroned, but a prince
huntingwithmusicians,and the bearded figureis prob-
ably a portraitof Baysunghurhimself37Other unusual
scenes emphasize a youth'sprincelyrole and his claim to
legitimacy:the episode in which Prince Luhrasp hears of
the disappearance of his fatherKay Khusrawis found in
only one other fifteenth-century manuscript,and that
where the young Bahram Gur is consigned to the tutor
Munzir is unique. The Zafarnrma(Book ofVictory)com-
missioned by the Timurid sultan Husayn Bayqara in
1467-68 (Baltimore,TheJohns Hopkins University, Mil-
ton S. Eisenhower Library,John Work Garrett Collec-
tion) is a small manuscript (24 x 15cm.) with only six
double-page illustrations,but its elegant script, finely
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK IN IRAN
burnished paper, and dramaticimages attestto its impe-
rial patronage, and Eleanor Sims has argued that its
paintingsillustratingheroic episodes in the lifeof Timur
and his son CUmar Shaykh were chosen to underscore
the patron's connection to the Timurid line and to jus-
tifyhis assumption of power.38
Bausani found that one of the characteristicfeatures
of traditionalIranian thought was its "mythificationof
the past,""39and thisis exactlyhow courtlypatronsbegan
to use luxury copies of illustrated manuscripts at the
beginning of the fourteenthcentury.They used histories
and epics to legitimizetheirown rule, and theyselected
events for illustrationwhich had parallels in their own
lives. Illustrations,which had served to clarifythe textor
reiteratepictoriallywhat was described in the text,took
on contemporarymeanings, and, just as wall paintings
and reliefshad done in pre-Islamictimes,theycould be
used tojustifyand comment upon contemporaryevents.
Richmond,
NewHampshire
NOTES
1. Lisa Golombek,"Towarda Classificationof IslamicPainting,"
IslamicArtin theMetropolitan MuseumofArt,ed. RichardEtting-
hausen (NewYork,1972), pp. 23-34.
2. I am deliberatelyexcludingmanuscriptsexecuted in a provin-
cial style,such as the ones associatedwiththe Injus, forthey
pose different, if related,problems. This methodologyalso
excludes the group of "small" Shahnamamanuscriptswhose
date and localizationare so controversial,but ifthe proposed
hypothesisabout the evolvingfunctionof illustratedmanu-
scriptsis accepted, then in turnit can shed lighton the pos-
sible date forthesemanuscripts.
3. The basic introductionto Arab paintingis RichardEttinghau-
sen, ArabPainting(Geneva,1962).
4. On thisterm,see Encyclopaedia ofIslam,2nd. ed., s.v. "Adab."
5. Oleg Grabar,"Picturesor Commentaries:The Illustrationsof
the Maqamatofal-Hariri,"StudiesinArtand Literature oftheNear
East in HonorofRichardEttinghausen, ed. PeterJ. Chelkowski
(New York,1974), pp. 85-104, and TheIllustrations oftheMaqa-
mat(Chicago, 1984).
6. Ettinghausen,ArabPainting,pp.114-16.
7. Translationin E. G. Browne, "Account of a Rare, if Not
Unique, ManuscriptHistoryof the Seljuqs Contained in the
Schefer Collection Lately Acquired by the Bibliotheque
Nationale in Paris,"Journalof theRoyalAsiaticSociety, 1902,
pp. 579-80.
8. The manuscriptcontains 70 folios with71 illustrations;the
foliosmeasure 29 x 22cm., and the textis writtenin naskh
scriptin browninkin 19 linesofdisticheswithina writtenarea
23 x 12cm. See AhmedAtes,"Le recitde Warqahet Gulshah,"
Ars Orientalis4 (1961): 143-52; A. S. Melikian-Chirvani, "Le
romande Varqe et Golsah,"ArtsAsiatiques 22 (1970).
9. M. K. Ozergin, "SelhukluSanatjisi Nakkas Adbfilmfi'min el
Hoyi Hakkinda,"Beletin24 (1970): 219-30.
This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Sun, 18 Jan 2015 08:30:38 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
273
10. Ettinghausen,ArabPainting,pp.98-99.
11. RichardEttinghausen,"On Some Mongol Miniatures,"Kunst
desOrients3 (1959): 44-52; MariannaS. Simpson,"The Role of
Baghdad in the Formationof Persian Painting,"Artetsociiti
dans le mondeiranien,ed. Ch. Adle (Paris, 1982), pp.91-116.
The Tn-rikh-iJahdnGushdcontains 175 folios (32 x 24cm.),
each with27 lines of naskh script.The Marzuban-ndma con-
tains215 folios(23 x 16cm.), each with17 linesof naskhscript
withina writtensurface17 x 10cm.
12. The manuscriptcontains86 folios(34 x 24cm.) with94 paint-
ings.The colophon is damaged,and the onlythefinal Cayn of
the unitdigitis preservedbeforethe six hundredand ninety.
The year694 can be eliminated,as the prefacementionsSul-
tan Ghazan who did not ascend the throne until the last
monthof thatyear,so the possibilitiesare 697 or 699 (1297 or
1300).
13. The manuscripthas 178 folios,each 32 x 20cm. See Priscilla
Soucek, "An IllustratedManuscriptof al-Birfini's Chronology of
Ancient Nations," TheScholarand theSaint,ed. PeterChelkowski
(New York,1975), pp.103-68.
14. PriscillaSoucek, "The Life of the Prophet: IllustratedVer-
sions," Content and Context ofVisualArtsin theIslamicWorld, ed.
PriscillaSoucek (University Park,Penna., and London, 1988),
pp.193-218.
15. Encyclopaedia ofIslam,2nd ed., s.v. "Al-Hilli(1) Djamal al-Din
Hasan b. Yfisfif b. CAlib. Mutahhar."
16. Sheila S. Blair,"The Coins of the Later Ilkhanids:A Typolog-
ical Analysis,"JournaloftheEconomic and SocialHistoryoftheOri-
ent26 (1983): 295-317, analyzesthe numismaticevidence for
Uljaytu'sconversion.
17. The problem of dating the illustrations in a manuscriptis a
knottyone. Accordingto the usual scenario,the scribewould
finishwritingthe manuscript(in thiscase in 707 [1307-8]),
leavingspace forthe illustrations, butthe amountof timethat
he or the artistneeded to finishthe (in thiscase twenty-four)
paintingsis unknown.
18. DavidJames,Qur~ansoftheMamluks(NewYork,1988), chaps. 4
and 5.
19. See. for example, three manuscriptsproduced in 1282
(Oman, Collectionof the Sultan), 1286-87 (Tehran,Iran Bas-
tan Museum,4277), and 1287 (Mashhad, Imam Riza Shrine
Library,120), published respectively in James,Qur~ansofthe
Mamluks,no. 36, and MartinLings and Yasin Hamid Safadi,
TheQur~an(London, 1976), nos. 57 and 58.
20. Paris,Bibliothique Nationale,6716; Lingsand Safadi,Qur'an,
no. 59; FrancoisDeroche, Les manuscrits du Coran,vol. 2 (Paris,
1985), no. 523, p.122.
21. James,Qur~ansoftheMamluks,nos. 39, 42, 45, and 46.
22. Ibid., no. 40.
23. Sheila S. Blair,"IlkhanidArchitecture and Society:An Analysis
of theEndowmentDeed oftheRabc-iRashidi,"Iran22 (1984):
81-82.
24. Illustratedin A. U. Pope and PhyllisAckerman,eds., A Survey
ofPersianArt(Oxford,1939), pl. 936; 52 x 36cm.
25. James,
Qurrans oftheMamluks,no. 46; 52 x 37cm.
26. RichardEttinghausen,"An IlluminatedManuscriptof Haifiz-i
Abrfiin Istanbul,"Kunstdes Orients 2 (1955): 30-44; A. Ates,
Cdmical-Tavdranh (Ankara,1957); GfinerInal, "Some Minia-
tures of theJamical-Tavd-khin Istanbul,Topkapi Museum,
Hazine LibraryNo. 1654," Ars Orientalis5 (1963): 165-75;
idem, "The Fourteenth-Century Jamical-Tavanrkh in the Top-
274 SHEILA S. BLAIR
kapi Museum in Istanbul,Hazine LibraryNo. 1653," Ph.D.
diss., Universityof Michigan,1965; and idem, "ArtisticRela-
tionshipbetween the Far and Near East as Reflectedin the
Miniatures of the Gdmicat-Tawadrh," Kunst des Orients10
(1975): 108-43.
27. D. TalbotRice, TheIllustrationstothe'World ofRashidal-
History'
Din, ed. Basil Gray (Edinburgh,1976); and Basil Gray,The
WorldHistory ofRashidal-Din:A StudyoftheRoyalAsiaticSociety
Manuscript (London and Boston,1978).
28. D. O. Morgan,"PersianHistoriansand theMongols,"Medieval
HistoricalWriting in theChristianand IslamicWorlds,ed. D. O.
Morgan (London, 1982), pp. 109-24.
29. See myforthcoming monographon the fragmentof theJamic
al-Tavarikhnow in the Nour Collection,London.
30. Basil Robinson, PersianPaintingsin theIndia OfficeLibrary
(London, 1976), nos. 1-53,pp.3-10, commentson themodest
styleof the 53 paintingsof the manuscript(112 folios;written
surface36 x 26cm.). The paintingsare also extremelytradi-
tionalin subject:49 are authorportraitsdepictinga poet pre-
sentinga Mongol princewitha scrollofverse(misunderstood
as a long sock or twistedcloth); twoothers (nos. 10 and 40)
expand thecompositionto six poets.Onlytwohave somewhat
more innovativecompositions:no. 1, "Sultan Sanjar and the
poet Mucizziviewingthe moon" (fol. Ib), adds a small land-
scape, and no. 20, "The amourous poet" (fol. 43b), adds a
modestarchitectural setting.
31. JonathanBloom is workingon thissubjectwithregardto the
large luster-paintedplate ordered by a margravein 1210
(Washington,D.C., FreerGalleryofArt,41.11).
This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Sun, 18 Jan 2015 08:30:38 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
32. Oleg Grabarand Sheila Blair,EpicImagesand Contemporary His-
tory:TheIllustrations
oftheGreatMongolShahnama(Chicago and
London, 1980), and Sheila Blair, "On the Track of the
'Demotte' ShahnamaManuscript,"Les manuscrits du Moyen-Ori-
ent:Essaisde codicologie
etdepallographie,
VariaTurcica8 (Istan-
bul/Paris,1989), pp.125-31.
33. TranslatedbyW. M. ThackstonJr.,A Century ofPrinces:Sources
on Timurid Historyand Art(Cambridge,Mass.,1989), p. 345.
34. MartinB. Dickson and StuartCaryWelch,TheHoughton Shah-
nameh(Cambridge, Mass., 1982). The folios measure 47 x
32cm.
35. For the impact that the Demotte Shahnamahad on Safavid
painting,see Sheila Blair andJonathanBloom, "Epic Images
and ContemporaryHistory:The Legacyof the GreatMongol
Shah-nama, "IslamicArt(forthcoming).
36. All thepaintingsfromthemanuscript(38 x 26cm.) are repro-
duced in Basil Gray,An AlbumofMiniatures and Illuminations
fromtheBaysonghori ManuscriptoftheShahnameh ofFerdowsi-
Preservedin theImperial Tehran(Tehran,1971).
Library,
37. The best studyof Baysunghurand his patronage is Thomas
Lentz, "Paintingat Herat under Baysunghuribn Shahrukh,"
Ph.D. diss.,HarvardUniversity, 1985,who delineatesthe role
thepatronplayedin theproductionofluxurymanuscripts.
38. Eleanor Sims, "The GarrettManuscriptof the Zafar-Name: A
Studyin Fifteenth-Century Timurid Patronage,"Ph.D. diss.,
InstituteofFine Arts,NewYorkUniversity, 1973.
39. AlessandroBausani,PersiaReligiosa(Milan,1959), pp.171-72.