Summary:
Exquisite copy of a short treatise composed by Mehmet Tahir Münif Paşa (d.1910) chiefly on envoys sent from the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II (r.1808 to 1839) to the court of Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh Qājār (r.1797-1834) and depicted in the wall paintings at Nigāristān Palace, accompanied by fine watercolor portraits of these individuals and other envoys at the court (see p.28-29, Ek I (147-152), Ek V, Ek VIII in Akın, Münif Paşa ve Türk kültür tarihindeki yeri and p.435-436 in Budak, Batılılaşma sürecinde çok yönlü bir Osmanlı aydını : Münif Paşa).
Subject(s):
Ambassadors--Turkey--Biography.
Diplomats--Turkey--Biography.
Manuscripts, Turkish--Michigan--Ann Arbor.
Qājār, Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh,--Shah of Iran,--d. 1834.
Turkey--History--Mahmud II, 1808-1839--Sources.
Turkey--Foreign relations--Iran--19th century.
Iran--Foreign relations--Turkey--19th century.
Iran--Court and courtiers--19th century.
Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918--Sources.
Iran--History--Qajar dynasty, 1794-1925--Sources.
Incipit:
"فتحعلى شاه زماننده رجال ومأمورين دولت عليه دن ايرانه كلمشن اولان بعض ددانك [ذواتك] تصويرلرى طهرانده شاه مشار اليهك انشا كرده سى اولان نكارستان كوشكى ديوارنده نقش اولنمش اولمغله تصاوير مذكوره و ايران تاريخلرنده بونلره متعلق دسترس اوله بيلديكم بعض معلومات اشبو رساله يه نقل و درج اولندى غرض نقشی است کز ما بازماند که هستی را نمی بینم بقایی فی اواخر سهر صفر من سنة الف ومأتین و واحد و تسعین يسجى زاده سيد عبد الوهاب افندى بيك ايكى يوز يكرمى التى سنه سنده شاكر وحيرت افندىلر دخى رفاقتده اولديغىحالده خاقان خلد آشيان سلطان محمود خان ثانى طرفندن سفارتله فتحعلى شاه نزدينه ارسال اولنوب ..."
Physical Details:
Collation:
i, IV (8), 4 I(16), i ; single quaternion followed by composed "single bifolia" hinged together with strips of cloth ; catchwords present ; each of the paintings mounted on the verso of separate leaf with the recto left blank.
Script:
Nastaʻlīq ; exquisite hand in a medium line ; characteristically serifless with effect of words gently descending to baseline, elongation and contrasting thickness of horizontal strokes, pointing mainly in distinct but conjoined dots, bowl of nūn wide and angled with dot set just down within.
Decoration:
Illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) at opening consisting of rectangular piece with empty gold cartouch flanked by vegetal motifs in gold on fields of lapiswith bright green and red accents surmounted by a well of red with white crosses flanked by narrow green bands filled with swirling vegetal and floral motifs (saz leaves, etc.) in gold with white, red, blue and green accents set among an empty scalloped medallion and triangular edge pieces to give a vaguely w-shaped effect ; written area throughout surrounded by gold frame with outermost blue rule, margins also outlined in narrow gold bands defined by black fillets ; headings and vocalization in rubricated ; text followed by eight fine watercolor portraits of the envoys (compare figures as they appear in watercolors based on the life-size wall paintings at Nigāristān Palace, see AKM00502 Aga Khan Museum and Diba, ed. Royal Persian Paintings: The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925).
Support:
Opening gathering in non-European (likely Persian) laid paper with roughly 9 laid lines per cm. (horizontal, curving, somewhat indistinct) and no chain lines plainly visible, cloudy formation, inclusions, dense and fairly thick though transluscent, beige to gray in color, well-sized and burnished ; paintings on sturdy paper now affixed with adhesive to quite heavy, opaque sheets of paper, cream in color.
Binding:
Pasteboards covered in painted lacquerwork with brown leather over spine ; Type III binding (without flap) ; doublures each in painted lacquerwork, a solid red field ; upper and lower covers carry paintings depicting each of two gates of Tehran as indicated by inscriptions "دروازده دولت در طهران" and "دروازه ناصريه در طهران" ; sewn in cream thread, eight and four stations ; overall in fairly good condition with minor losses of lacquer and paint.
Former Shelfmarks:
"156 [or 256 ?] T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" and "254" in pencil on verso of front flyleaf.
Origin:
As appears at close of preface, composed end of Ṣafar 1291 [1874]. This copy likely executed shortly afterward.
Ownership and History:
At close of preface, likely author's signature now effaced (compare other manuscripts İstanbul Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi TY 4422 and Arkeoloji Müzesi Kütüphanesi TY No: 401) ; clean copy.
Contributor(s) / Included work(s):
Unidentified-Can you help supply this information? Please comment!
References:
Akın, Âdem. Münif Paşa ve Türk kültür tarihindeki yeri. Ankara : Atatürk Kültür Merkezi, 1999.Bilim, Cahit. "Elçi, M. Seyid Abdülvahab Efendi, Yazar, Sefaret Tercümanı Bozoklu Osman Şakir Efendi Musavver İran Sefaretnamesi." OTAM: Ankara Üniversitesi Osmanlı Tarihi Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi Dergisi, 13 (2002): 261-286.Budak, Ali. Batılılaşma sürecinde çok yönlü bir Osmanlı aydını : Münif Paşa. Cağaloğlu, İstanbul : Kitabevi, 2004.Mango, A. J., " Münīf Pas̲h̲a,"In EI2İstanbul Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi TY 4422Arkeoloji Müzesi Kütüphanesi TY No: 401Diba, Layla S. "Images of power and the power of images: intention and response in early Qajar painting (1785-1834)." In Royal Persian paintings: the Qajar epoch, 1785-1925. Ed. Layla S. Diba with Maryam Ekhtiar (London: Tauris, in association with Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1998): 30-49.Diba, Layla, ed. Royal Persian Paintings: The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925. Brooklyn, N.Y. : Brooklyn Museum of Art in association with I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1998.
Posted by evyn on March 8, 2010
Tags: Abdul Hamid Collection, Fully Catalogued, Turkish MSS
Comments on specific paragraphs:
Click the
icon to the right of a paragraph
Comments on the page as a whole:
Click the
icon to the right of the page title (works the same as paragraphs)