Corpus Christi College : Shahnama

Firdausi

Corpus Christi College

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>This is an interesting copy of the Shahnama, deserving detailed study. The text differs considerably from the standard editions of Khaleghi-Motlagh and Dabir-Siyaqi. It appears that the manuscript illustrations are from the same atelier as Dorn 333 in the National Library of Russia in St Petersburg. The text used may be the same and display similar departures from the normal. The detailed colophon, naming the calligrapher as Hajji Muhammad b. Nur al-Din Muhammad Dasht-i Bayazi, suggests the possibility of a production in Khurasan. However, others believe Isfahan or Shiraz (Sheila Canby) to be the place of production.</p><p>The artist responsible for most of the paintings can be identifed as Afzal al-Husaini; two others, ff. 324v and 329r, are by a different artist, probably Mu'in-i Musavvir; it is interesting that all the pictures show violent scenes of combats and bissections. (F.A. and Ch.M.).</p><p>The manuscript was exhibited in the Shahnama millennial exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2010.</p></p>