Walters Ms. W.635, Collection of poems (divan)

W.635

Collection of poems (divan)

Dīvān-i Ḥāfiẓ

Vernacular: ديوان حافظ

Authority name: Ḥāfiẓ, 14th cent.

As-written name: Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiz al-Shīrāzī

Name, in vernacular: شمس الدين محمد حافظ الشيرازى

Note: Author dates preferred by cataloger: (fl. 8th century AH / 14th CE)

This is an illuminated and illustrated Collection of poems (dīvān) by Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiz al-Shīrāzī (fl. eighth century AH / fourteenth CE), which was produced in India. According to the colophon, the manuscript was completed on the 19th Rajab 1202[?] AH / 1788[?] CE. It opens with a double-page illuminated incipit (fols. 1b-2a) with headpiece that introduces the preface (dībāchah) (fols. 1b-4b), followed by another double-page illuminated incipit with headpiece opening the main text of the Dīvān (fols. 5b-6a). The codex is decorated throughout with square and rectangular panels, as well as horizontal bands with floral decoration marking the end of odes, quatrains, or series of verses. There are forty-nine illustrations. The brown leather binding with medallion and pendants is contemporary with the manuscript.

19th Rajab 1202[?] AH / 1788[?] CE

India

Book

Literary -- Poetry

The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.

fol. 212b:

1. Transliteration: tamma tamma tamām shud bi-tārīkh-i nūzdahum /1/ shahr-i Rajab al-murajjab sanat-i 1202[?] /2/
2. Comment: Date uncertain (evidence of erasure of second digit)

Paper

Laid paper

Foliation: i+ 213+i

Catchwords: Written obliquely on versos

8.0 cm wide by 14.0 cm high

4.5 cm wide by 9.0 cm high

1. Columns: 2
2. Ruled lines: 14
3. Framing lines in blue, red, gold, and green

fols. 1b - 212b:

1. Title: Dīvān-i Ḥāfiẓ
2. Author: Ḥāfiẓ, 14th cent.
3. Incipit: حمد بيعد وثناى بيعد وسڀاس بيقياس...
4. Text note: Main text of the Dīvān preceded by a preface (dībāchah) (fols. 1b-4b)
5. Hand note: Written in black nastaʿlīq script
6. Decoration note: Forty-nine illustrations; double-page illuminated incipit with headpiece introducing the preface; double-page illuminated incipit with headpiece introducing the main text; square and rectangular panels with floral decoration on text pages; framing lines in blue, red, gold, and green

fol. 1b:

1. 
2. Title: Incipit page with illuminated headpiece
3. Form: Incipit; headpiece
4. Label: This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece inscribed with the doxological formula (basmalah). It introduces the preface (dībāchah) of the work. There is gilt interlinear decoration with a flower and vine gilt border.

fol. 5b:

1. 
2. Title: Incipit page with illuminated headpiece
3. Form: Incipit; headpiece
4. Label: This incipit page has an illuminated headpiece inscribed with the doxological formula (basmalah) introducing the initial verses of the Dīvān. There is gilt interlinear illumination and rectangular panels with floral motifs in the lower corners of the text area.

fol. 8b:

1. 
2. Title: The Prophet Muhammad (not depicted) ascends on Burāq
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 12a:

1. 
2. Title: An angel tells Adam to leave paradise
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 14a:

1. 
2. Title: The martyrdom of Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 19b:

1. 
2. Title: King Solomon sends a hoopoe with a message to Queen Sheba
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 23b:

1. 
2. Title: The story of the nightingale continuing to mourn
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 28b:

1. 
2. Title: Comparison of two famous couples: Iyāz and Sultan Maḥmūd and Laylá and Majnūn
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 33b:

1. 
2. Title: A man beside the bed of his beloved with his two rivals
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 38b:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ dreams of a beautiful girl coming to his bed
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 43b:

1. 
2. Title: A beautiful girl and two gentlemen
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: This illustration seems to depict the lower verse inscribed on the page indicting that it is not necessary to bring a candle to the gathering, as the beautiful face of the woman is illumination enough.

fol. 48a:

1. 
2. Title: An intoxicated girl brings wine to Ḥāfiẓ
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 54a:

1. 
2. Title: Farhād in front of Shīrīn’s palace
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 59b:

1. 
2. Title: Two lovers drinking wine in a garden
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 65a:

1. 
2. Title: The hoopoe brings King Solomon good news from Queen Sheba
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 70b:

1. 
2. Title: Majnūn, surrounded by animals, hopes to see Laylá pass
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 75b:

1. 
2. Title: A festive party
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 80b:

1. 
2. Title: King Solomon upon his throne and dancing demons
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 86b:

1. 
2. Title: Jamshīd with his courtiers
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 92a:

1. 
2. Title: Jacob visiting Joseph and his brothers
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 97a:

1. 
2. Title: Alexander the Great and Darius
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 102b:

1. 
2. Title: Alexander the Great, in search of the Fountain of Life, meets the prophet Khiḍr
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 107a:

1. 
2. Title: Jesus in the company of men and women
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: This illustration seems to refer to the first couplet on the page: “Wine, like Jesus, gives life to dead bodies.”

fol. 113a:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ pays a visit to his beloved at night
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 119b:

1. 
2. Title: Alexander the Great, in search of the Fountain of Life, meets the prophet Khiḍr
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 122a:

1. 
2. Title: Men drinking wine
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 126b:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ tells the story of Kay Kāvus
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 131b:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ serves wine in the company of a king, a judge, and a policeman
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 135a:

1. 
2. Title: Jacob visits Joseph in Egypt
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 140a:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ and Ḥājī Qavām
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 143b:

1. 
2. Title: Sultan Maḥmūd and Iyāz
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 148b:

1. 
2. Title: Farhād visits Shīrīn
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 150b:

1. 
2. Title: A man playing polo
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: This illustration relates to the lower verse on this page: "The white horse of fortune became tame under you. You rode well into the field, so go forth and hit the ball."

fol. 153b:

1. 
2. Title: Farhād kills himself with a pickaxe
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 156a:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ and his beloved with a bottle and a glass of wine in her hands
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 161b:

1. 
2. Title: Gathering on a terrace
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: This scene is supposed to go with the couplet "Considering what the women have done to Kay Kāvus and Kay Khusraw, do not put your faith in them."

fol. 171a:

1. 
2. Title: Majnūn surrounded by animals and Laylá in her tent
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 178b:

1. 
2. Title: Figures seated around a magic bowl
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: This scene refers to the first couplet on the page, referring to Jamshīd and his magic bowl (jām).

fol. 180b:

1. 
2. Title: Farhād cuts the rocks while Shīrīn and Khusraw pass by on horseback
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 183a:

1. 
2. Title: The empty throne and Jamshīd’s crown
3. Form: Illustration
4. Comment:

   This scene is supposed to illustrate the verses of this page about the nothingness of this world and worldly things.

fol. 186a:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ recites poems to his beloved
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 188b:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ recites poems before a king
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 190b:

1. 
2. Title: A beautiful girl (like an angel) on horseback followed by a crowd of admirers
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 192a:

1. 
2. Title: A Persian king with his courtiers
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 193b:

1. 
2. Title: Laylá and Majnūn and an old messenger who arranged their meeting
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 195a:

1. 
2. Title: Rustam in the well
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 196b:

1. 
2. Title: Two seated figures in discussion
3. Form: Illustration
4. Label: This scene refers to the verse about the passing of kings into oblivion, advising that one should not spend life without drink and merrymaking.

fol. 198a:

1. 
2. Title: A man in the company of merrymaking friends
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 200b:

1. 
2. Title: Ḥāfiẓ comes to visit his beloved
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 202b:

1. 
2. Title: A festive party with music and wine
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 204b:

1. 
2. Title: Jacob questions his sons after they threw Joseph into the well
3. Form: Illustration

The binding is original.

Brown leather with inlaid medallions and pendants (no flap)

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Richard, Francis. Catalogue des manuscrits persans. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1989), no. 272.

Principal cataloger: Gacek, Adam

Catalogers: Landau, Amy; Smith, Sita

Editor: Bockrath, Diane

Conservators: Jewell, Stephanie; Quandt, Abigail

Contributors: Barrera, Christina; Emery, Doug; Herbert, Lynley; Noel, William; Simpson, Shreve; Tabritha, Ariel; Toth, Michael B.; Valle, Chiara

The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.