Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines a group of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century figural silks depicting legendary lovers from the Khamsa (Quintet) of epic Persian poetry. Codified by Nizami Ganjavi in the twelfth century, the Khamsa gained popularity in the Persian-speaking realm through illustrated manuscripts produced for the elite, creating a template for illustrating climactic scenes in the love stories of “Layla and Majnun” and “Khusrau and Shirin” that appear on early modern silks. Attributed to Safavid Iran, the publication proposes that dress fashioned from these silks represented Sufi ideals based on the characters. Migration of weavers between Safavid and Mughal courts resulted in producing goods for a sophisticated and educated elite, demonstrating shared cultural values and potential reattribution. Through an examination of primary source materials, literary analysis of the original text, and close iconographical study of figural designs, the study presents original cross-disciplinary arguments about patronage, provenance, and the socio-cultural significance of wearing these silks.
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
Notes on Transliteration
Introduction
Material Culture and Mysticism in the Persianate World
PART I
Chapter One
Silks, Signatures and Self-fashioning
Khamsa Narrative Silks in Scholarship
The Famous
Naqshband: Unrivalled in the Art of Textile Design
Craftsmen and Consumers
Self-Fashioning in the Early Modern Persianate World
Chapter Two
Dressed as King, Lover and Beloved: Khusrau and Shirin
Lovers from Nizami’s >
Khamsa The Romantic Tragedy of Nizami’s ‘Khusrau and Shirin’
Khusrau and Shirin in Paintings and Safavid Silks
The Gaze and the Body: States of Dress and Undress
Chapter Three
Weaving Stories, Weaving Self: Layla and Majnun as Sufi Icons
The Mystical Love Story of Nizami’s ‘Layla and Majnun’
Layla and Majnun in Paintings and Safavid silks
The >
Khamsa of Amir Khusrau
Text and Textile in Sufi Poetry
PART II
Chapter Four
The Divine Cloak of Majesty: Material Culture in Sufi Practice
Garments as Gifts of Blessing, Piety and Power
Chivalry, Spirituality, and Materiality in Sufism
Khirqa: The Cloak of Spiritual Poverty
Khamsa Silk as >
Khirqa? Figural Silks in Islamic Literary Sources
Enrobed:
Khil’atChapter Five
Mughal Dress and Spirituality: The Age of Sufi Kings
Silk, Sufism and Self-Image at the Mughal Court
Figural Silks from Mughal Manufactories
Jahangir as King and Lover Ghiyath’s Legacy at the Mughal Court
Chapter Six
Safavid Figural Silks in Diplomacy: Rare Textiles of Novel Design
Silk as Commodity in Safavid Iran
Safavid Ambassadors and Figural Silk
Figural Silk as Safavid Identity: Sherley and his rivals
Safavid and Mughal Gift-giving in Historical Accounts
Figural Silks at the Mughal Court
Conclusion
Appendix A: List of Khamsa silks
Appendix B: Summary, Amir Khusrau’s ‘Shirin and Khusrau’
Appendix C: Summary, Amir Khusrau’s ‘Majnun and Layla’
Glossary
Works Cited
Index
