Description:

AN ILLUMINATED SAFAVID MINIATURE, EARLY 16TH CENTURY, PERSIA
Persia, early 16th century

Description:
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper; a finely painted Safavid miniature likely illustrating a literary or mystical scene, set within a mountainous landscape with symbolic and narrative detail. At the top of the composition, a noble figure dressed in a red and green robe and high turban reclines in contemplative sorrow beside a dark horse. He rests against a rock outcrop, his head tilted in his hand—an iconography suggestive of Majnun in the wilderness.

In the foreground, a partially nude figure is depicted emerging from or seated within a dark grotto or cave, surrounded by pink blossoms and stylized trees. A second standing figure to the left holds a book or scroll, perhaps reading or reciting verses. Nearby are accessories of courtly life: a saddle, turban, and sword laid reverently at the base of a tree, symbolizing renunciation or loss. A black horse, elaborately saddled and turned away, adds to the narrative tone of departure or solitude.

The painting is framed within a rich peach-hued border decorated in delicate siyah qalam ink with faint floral and animal motifs, consistent with muraqqaʿ album presentation formats of the period.

Dimensions: approx. 23.5 x 15 cm (folio); miniature: 16.5 x 9.5 cm

This evocative scene is marked by the lyrical melancholy and refined figural style typical of early Safavid manuscript production, particularly under the influence of the Herat school and the emotional expressiveness popularized by Nizami's romantic epics.

Comparable examples:

  • A depiction of Majnun in the Wilderness, Safavid Persia, c. 1525, sold at Christie’s, London, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 27 April 2017, Lot 47, for £62,500.

  • A folio from Nizami’s Khamsa with a related romantic theme, attributed to Tabriz, circa 1510–30, sold at Sotheby’s, London, Arts of the Islamic World, 9 October 2019, Lot 57, for £49,000.

  • A scene of Majnun and the Beasts, Safavid, mid-16th century, sold at Bonhams, London, Islamic and Indian Art, 29 April 2008, Lot 105, for £38,400.

Note:
This miniature likely draws inspiration from Nizami’s Layla wa Majnun, a central work of Persian literature, depicting Majnun’s exile into the wilderness. The abandonment of worldly items, the presence of natural elements, and the emotional tenor of the scene are hallmarks of Safavid visual storytelling. The figures are rendered with grace and emotional depth, set within a carefully balanced composition rich in symbolic resonance.

 

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May 6, 2025 1:00 PM BST
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