Description:

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

Description:
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper; a poignant Safavid illustration likely depicting a romantic or mystical moment from Persian epic literature, set within a delicately tiered natural landscape. At the center of the composition, a noble figure in a red and green robe reclines mournfully on a rocky hill, resting his head in his hand beside two horses—his own and perhaps that of a companion—symbols of journey and isolation.

The scene is filled with narrative details: to the lower left, a partially unclothed figure emerges from a dark cave, possibly a hermit or ascetic. A richly decorated tree with blossoms curves upward, visually linking the upper and lower registers. Scattered around its base are symbols of courtly life—an ornate turban, a scabbard, and a saddle—laid at the foot of the tree as offerings or emblems of renunciation.

To the left, a companion figure dressed in a long green robe appears to gesture or speak, possibly in an act of guidance or mourning. The background is painted in ochre with stylized golden cloud motifs, while the page is surrounded by a rose-peach margin decorated with delicate floral and animal outlines in gold wash, consistent with high-quality muraqqaʿ pages.

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

This emotionally resonant composition combines courtly elegance with symbolic wilderness, highlighting the Safavid fascination with love, longing, and the retreat from worldly pleasures found in works by Nizami or Jami.

Comparable examples:

  • A Majnun in the Wilderness folio, attributed to Shiraz, Safavid, circa 1530, sold at Christie’s, London, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 2 May 2019, Lot 61, for £56,250.

  • An illustration of Farhad digging through the mountain, Safavid Persia, circa 1525–35, sold at Sotheby’s, London, Arts of the Islamic World, 25 April 2012, Lot 91, for £44,450.

  • A Lover mourning in the wilderness, early 16th century, sold at Bonhams, London, Islamic and Indian Art, 8 October 2002, Lot 111, for £35,000.

Note:
The themes of renunciation, exile, and emotional yearning in this work strongly suggest an interpretation aligned with the story of Majnun, a recurring figure of divine madness and longing in Persian poetic tradition. The careful layering of narrative space and the inclusion of symbolic courtly relics deepen the psychological and poetic tension of the miniature, a hallmark of early Safavid illustration.

 

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May 6, 2025 1:00 PM BST
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