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[Siḥr al-Bayān]

سحر البيان

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Image of [Siḥr al-Bayān]
Title:
[Siḥr al-Bayān]
سحر البيان.
Creator:
Ḥasan, Mīr, 18th cent.
حسن، مير.
Forms part of:
Islamic Manuscripts Collection
Publication / Origin:
[18--?]
Abstract:
Illuminated copy of Sihr al-Bayān, a love story with fabulous elements between prince Bīnaẓīr and princess Badr-i Munīr, completed in 1199/1785 (EI²). The text is preceded on fol. 1a-3a by verses of poetry and prayers in Persian and Arabic.
Size:
i, 103, i leaves : paper ; 210 x 135 (165 x 100) mm. bound to 215 x 145 mm.
Subjects:
Parrots — Pictorial works — Specimens.
Horses — Pictorial works — Specimens.
Tigers — Pictorial works — Specimens.
Bears — Pictorial works — Specimens.
Snakes — Pictorial works — Specimens.
Animals, Mythical — Pictorial works — Specimens.
Jinn — Pictorial works — Specimens.
Urdu literature — 18th century.
Urdu poetry — 18th century.
Monsters — Pictorial works — Specimens.
Manuscripts, Urdu — New Jersey — Princeton.
Medium / Genre:
Illuminated manuscripts - Islamic empire - India - 19th century.
Miniatures (Illuminations) - Islamic empire - India - 19th century.
Notes:
Ms. codex
Title provided by cataloger
Decoration: Illuminated headpiece with basmalah, executed in gold and colors (fol. 3b). Contains sixteen miniatures
Miniature 1 (fol. 12b): King, attendants and visitors
Miniature 2 (fol. 17a): The birth of Prince Bī Naẓīr ("Tavallud-i Shāhzādah Bī Naẓīr")
Miniature 3 (fol. 21a): Prince and five female characters in a garden, with parrots in cages
Miniature 4 (fol. 23b): Shāhzādah at the ḥammām ("Dar āmadan Shāhzādah dar ḥammām"), with four attendants, one holding a mirror where one sees a reflection of the main character
Miniature 5 (fol. 29a): Shāhzādah taken in the air by Parī's
Miniature 6 (fol. 33b): Shāhzādah wakes up in the land of the Parī's ("Bīdār shudan-i Shāhzādah dar Parīstān")
Miniature 7 (fol. 36a): Presentation of a winged horse by a Parī to Shāhzādah; the painting also shows two female attendants and a dīv
Miniature 8 (fol. 41b): Bī Naẓīr dismounts his winged horse, and meets Badr-i Munīr
Miniature 9 (fol. 47a): Bī Naẓīr and Badr-i Munīr drink together ("Sharābkashī bā hamdigar"); the painting also shows two female attendants and the winged horse
Miniature 10 (fol. 53a): Bī Naẓīr and Badr-i Munīr "unite" ("wiṣāl bā yakdigar"), with two female attendants
Miniature 11 (fol. 56b): Bī Naẓīr is put in the well by dīv's ("Dar chāh andakhtan-i Bī Naẓīr"); the painting shows three dīv's, a parī and a female attendant
Miniature 12 (fol. 69b): The despair of Badr-i Munīr; the painting shows Badr-i Munīr and four other female characters
Miniature 13 (fol. 72b): Fīrūz Shāh hears about the story; the painting shows a winged prince on a throne carried by two winged Parī's and a female character; animals including a snake, a tiger, and a bear, are sitting in the fore-gound
Miniature 14 (fol. 80b): Bī Naẓīr is taken out of the well ("Birūn kashīdan-i Bī Naẓīr az chāh"); the painting shows Bī Naẓīr on the shoulders of a dīv; two other dīv's, the winged prince and a female character are also present
Miniature 15 (fol. 93a): The wedding of Bī Naẓīr and Badr-i Munīr ("Nikāḥ-i Bī Naẓīr bā Badr-i Munīr"). The painting shows Bī Naẓīr sitting in front of two men; in the foreground are Badr-i Munīr and two men sitting
Miniature 16 (fol. 98a): Bī Naẓīr meets the parents ("mulāqāt-i Bī Naẓīr bā padar u mādar")
Origin: The copy is not dated
Physical Details:
Physical description: 12 lines per page. Written in medium large nastaʻlīq in black ink, with use of red for headings and miniatures' caption. The text is framed in gold, red, and black, with an outer frame consisting of a single black line. Two columns separated by double lines in black ink. Some miniatures are protected by a smaller piece of paper pasted on the inner margin, with inscriptions. Inscription in Roman script on fol. 1a, reading: "Adjudan [or: Adjudah?] Sing Sepay / Company".
Ownership and History:
Acquired from Abraham Shalom Yahuda, 1942.
Additional physical form available:
Microfilm negative available for reproduction.
Acquisition:
Gift ; Robert Garrett, Class of 1897 ; 1942.
Incipit:
كرون پيلى توحيد يزدان رقم چهكا جكى سجده.
Usage rights:
Use and reproduction
Restrictions on access