CALLIGRAPHIE MONTÉE SUR PAGE D’ALBUM : MAJALIS... Lot 153

CALLIGRAPHIE MONTÉE SUR PAGE D’ALBUM : MAJALIS AL-NAFA’IS » DE ‘ALI SHIR NAVA’I CENTRAL ASIA, HERAT, late 15th-early 16th century. THE MARGINS OF HERAT OR BUDKHARA, END OF THE 16th CENTURY Ink, gouache and gold on paper. Calligraphy of 11 lines of black and white text in Chagatai Turkish, set against a gilded background decorated with "tchi" clouds and scrolls of flowers, and divided into five panels of one or more lines. The text is bordered at the top and bottom by a long cartouche illuminated with arabesques and floral scrolls, and on the sides by four floral cartouches, on a gilded and blue background. Salmon-coloured inner border, trimmed with floral scrolls in gold. Mounted on an album page with wide green margins decorated with gold felines hunting gazelles, among dense vegetation. A CALLIGRAPHIC ALBUM PAGE: "MAJALIS AL-NAFA'IS" OF 'ALI SHIR NAVA'I, PERSIA, LATE 15TH/EARLY 16TH CENTURY. MARGINS: HERAT OR BOKHARA, LATE 16TH CENTURY. Text size: 25.2 x 12.5 cm; page size: 43.1 x 28.5 cm. This page of calligraphy, written in the Chagatai Turkish language, comes from the "Majalis al-Nafa'is", a biographical compilation by 'Ali Shir Nava'i (1441-1501), the greatest exponent of Chagatai literature, the classical Turkish language of Central Asia. Ali Shir Nava'i, of Turko-Mongolian origin, was born and died in Herat under the Timurids. A philosopher and poet, he produced some thirty literary works. He considered the Turkish language to be superior to the Persian language for literature. His poetry in Chagatai Turkish is considered by many to be the founder of Turkish literature. He was a member of the Naqshbandi Sufi brotherhood whose doctrine greatly influenced his work. He is still celebrated in Uzbekistan as the greatest Chagatai-speaking Uzbek poet, and a metro station in Tashkent bears his name (Alisher Navoi). This album page and the previous one, most probably come from an album (muraqqa') of Herat or Bukhara. A Mughal origin is not excluded either. Expert : L.S.