Frontispiece: From a manuscript of the Mantiq al-Tayr (The Language of the Birds) of Farid al-Din cAttar, ca. 1600; Safavid
Iran (Isfahan)
Opaque watercolor, ink, gold on paper
Technical Glossary
Iran (Isfahan)
Opaque watercolor, ink, gold on paper
12 7/8 x 8 5/16 in. (32.7 x 21.1 cm)
Fletcher Fund, 1963 (63.210)
This lavishly illuminated double-page frontispiece contains the first twenty lines of prayers. The text areas are enclosed by four large panels that contain the title of the book, Mantiq al-Tayr, and the author's name, Farid al-Din cAttar, in the middle cartouche. A minute inscription at the edge of these panels says that it was made by a famous illuminator and painter, Zayn al-cAbidin, in Isfahan by the order of Shah cAbbas. There are another four vertical panels filled with serrated leaves next to the text area. These panels are surrounded by a meticulously arranged lobed band that shows a harmonious combination of gold, blue, light green, orange, pink, and white.
