Description
Book SynopsisIncreases our understanding of the history and development of the arts of the book
Trade Review"The publication of Elaine Wright’s pioneering [work] is a milestone in the history of the Islamicarts of the book. It is a truly comprehensive survey, based on a large corpus of manuscripts, of production at Shiraz between 1300 and 1452, a period that saw the steady evolution of the book as precious object."
-- J.M. Rogers * Burlington Magazine *
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Illumination
Early Injuid Illumination
Il-Khanid Illumination
Late Injuid Illumination
The Evidence of Injuid and Il-Khanid Metalwork
The Issues of Patronage
The Sahih of the Vizier Qutbuddin Sulaymanshah
A Change in Aesthetics: Illuminated Muzaffarid Manuscripts
The Illumination of the Fars Malik Khatun Qur’an
The Development of the Mazuffarid Style
Manuscripts of the Late 1350s and 1360s
The Decoration of Contemporary Metalwork
The Impetus for Change
The Blue-and-Gold Floral Style following the Demise of the Muzaffarids
Illumination under the Jaybirds
Iskandar Sultan in Shiraz and Isfahan
The Illuminated Manuscripts of Iskandar Sultan
Iskandar Sultan’s Role as a Patron of Manuscripts
A Time of Change: From Ibrahim Sultan to the End of Timurid Rule in Shiraz
The Emergence of a New Illumination Style
The Introduction of a New Type of Paper
The Illuminations of Ibrahim Sultan and Baysunghur
Changes in the Manuscript Industry: Production and Patronage
Illumination in the Years Following the Demise of Timurid Control of Shiraz
2. Codicology
Textblock Format
The Standard Format
The Three-Sided Marginal Column Format
The One-Sided Marginal Column Format
Placement of Textblock on the Folio
The Size and Proportions of Folios and Textblocks
Folio Area
Folio and Textbook Proportions: Height to Width Ratios
Paper Production
Paper of Laid Construction
Paper of Wove Construction
Flocculency of Paper
Paper Color
Paper Thickness
Sizing and Burnishing
“Wove-Like” Paper in Manuscripts of the Period 839-48 / 1435-36 to 1444-45
3. Illustration
An Overview of Shiraz Styles
The Basic Shirazi Mode of Painting
Injuid Paintings
Muzaffarid-Style Paintings
Paintings of the Early Timurid, Pre-Iskander Era
Paintings of Iskandar Sultan
Paintings from the Time of Ibrahim Sultan to 1452
Modes of Illustration
Ettinghausen’s Literary Model for the Categorization of Persian Painting
The Case of Ibrahim Sultan’s Shahnama
The Layout of the Folio: The Integration of Text and Image
The Shahnama Manuscripts of Baysunghur and Ibrahim Sultan
Folio Layout in Other Manuscripts of the Fourteenth and Early Fifteenth Centuries
The Selection of Illustrations
4. Calligraphy
The Evolution of Nasta’liq Script
Persian Hanging Scripts
The Distringuishing Traits of Naskh and Nasta’liq
The Method of Analysis
The Corpus of Manuscripts
Results of the Script Analysis
Interpretation
Supporting Documentation
An Overview of the Development of Natsa’liq
5. Bookbinding
Construction
Decoration
Binding Decoration in the Fourteenth Century
Binding Decoration in the First Decade of the Fifteenth Century
Shiraz versus Herat: Bindings from the Time of Ibrahim Sultan and Baysunghur
The Tooled Bindings of Shiraz
6. A Chronological Overview
The Origins of the Classical Persian Manuscript: Changes of the Late 1350s and 1360s
The Cultural and Political Milieu of Fourteenth-Century Shiraz
Shiraz as a Center of Innovation
The Period of Change under Iskandar Sultan
The Decade of Change Following the Death of Ibrahim Sultan
Conclusion
Appendixes
1. Textblock Formats
2. Shahnama Translations
3. The Distribution of Text Illustrations in Shahnama Manuscripts
4. Script Analysis Tables for Individual Manuscripts
5. Manuscripts and Single Folios Cited
Notes
Bibliography
Index
