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Property from an Important Private Collection Jalal al-Din Muhammad bin As’ad Diwani, Lawam’i al-ishraq fi makarim al-akhlaq, signed Muhammad Shafi’ bin Abd al-Jabbar ‘Omar, Safavid Persia, dated last day of Dhi’l Qa’dah 1059 AH/5 December 1649 AD Persian manuscript on paper, 191 leaves plus 1 fly-leaf, 12 lines to the page, written in black nasta’liq, ruled in black, gold and blue, f.1b with a polychrome and gold heading, the margins of the opening bifolium densely decorated with gold and polychrome scrolls, in a brown leather binding with gilt and red stamped medallions, with flap, text panel 13 x 6.5cm; leaf 19.5 x 11cm. Provenance: From the library of Mehdi Bayani (impression of a stamp at the beginning and end of the manuscript); Christie’s London, 26 October 2007, lot 358. Note: Muhammad Shafi’ ibn Abd al-Jabbar was active at the court of Shah Abbas II (r.1642-66), he was one of the artists who worked on a monumental Shahnama between 1052 and 1061 AH/ 1642-51 AD, now in the National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg, inv.Dom 333 (V. Lukonin & A. Ivanov, The Lost Treasure: Persian Art, New York, 2012, ills.160-161, p.210). Condition report: In good condition, some stains and smudges, the opening bifolium with some losses and stains, several ownership inscriptions, minor damages to the binding, as viewed.

london, United Kingdom