Hāẕā Kitāb-i Khvājah Ḥāfiẓ-i Shīrāzī, [1280, i.e. 1863 or 1864].

Richly elegant copy of the Dīvān of the masterful poet Ḥāfiẓ (Khvājah Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, d.1390?).

Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Library, Isl. Ms. 321

Origin: As appears in colophon on p.373, copied by Muḥammad al-Sāvajī with transcription completed 1280 [1863 or 4].

Former shelfmark: "214 T. D. M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on recto of front flyleaf ; "25 / 13" inscribed in pencil on 'title page' (p.1).

Binding: Pasteboards covered in gray leather (pebbled quality of shagreen) ; Type III binding (without flap), two-piece binding (overlapping flanges visible at spine) ; doublures in red leather with gold-painted rule-borders ; upper and lower covers carry traces of gold-painted (now gone to green) rectangular panel and border ; sewn in lime green and red thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in pink and yellow, good condition ; overall in fair condition with some abrasion, staining, etc. ; upper cover fully detached with spine flange intact ; housed in box for protection.

Support: non-European (likely Persian or Indian) laid paper with 11 laid lines per cm. (horizontal, fairly distinct) and chains occasionally visible, quite sturdy though transluscent, extremely well-burnished to glossy.

Decoration: Exquisitely rich illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) at opening on p.2 consisting of rectangular piece with gold cartouche carrying the title in red ( "هذا كتاب خواجه حافظ شيرازى عليه الرحمه" ) flanked by gold accents with swirling arabesque red-orange, pink, green, etc. on fields of black and blue (lapis lazuli), surmounted by tall scalloped w-shaped piece with inset domes all filled with elaborate swirling arabesques with floral accents in gold, white, turquoise, red, pink, yellow, etc. on fields of blue (lapis lazuli) and gold, itself set into an elaborate well of bands in turquoise, red, white, and red-orange with arabesque and chī cloud design on black ground ; entire piece bordered by gold interlace or ropework border ; incipit and facing page carry richly executed illuminated marginal decoration in the form of swirling arabesques over various shapes in gold, red, black, turquoise, lapis lazuli, pink, lavender, green, white, etc. ; written area throughout surrounded by a heavy frame of gold, red, blue and turquoise bands with outermost blue rule ; area of margins outlined in red and gold ; text of incipit and facing page set off with gold cloud-bands ; occasional floral vegetal accents gold etc. appear occasionally between sections of text.

Script: Nastaʻlīq ; elegant hand ; serifless, with effect of words descending to baseline, closed counters, and elongated horizontal strokes.

Layout: Written in 14 lines per page ; written area divided to two columns to set-off poetry ; frame-ruled.

Collation: ii, V (10), 4 IV(42), V (52), 2 II(60), 13 IV(164), II (168), 2 IV(184), II (188) ; chiefly quaternions and binions ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization.

Colophon: "Scribal," rectangular, in Arabic, reads "مشقه العبد المذنب الفقير الحقير العاصى محمد الساوجى سنه ۱۲۸۰"

Explicit: "خاموش نشین که وقت خاموشی تست دم در کش و صراحی می و پر می کن"

Incipit: "الا یا ایها الساقی ادر کاسا و ناولها که عشق آسان نمود اول ولی افتاد مشکلها ..."

Title from illuminated headpiece at opening on p.2.

Ms. codex.

Cat. Pers. MSS. Brit. Mus.,

Richly elegant copy of the Dīvān of the masterful poet Ḥāfiẓ (Khvājah Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, d.1390?).

Mode of access: Internet.

Acquired by purchase (funds donated by Horace Rackham).

Inscriptions in pencil on front flyleaf "214 T. D. M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" and 'title page' (p.1) "25 / 13" ; inscription on front flyleaf indicating copy executed by Mīrzā Muḥammad Sāvajī ( ميرزا محمد ساوجى ) ; relatively clean copy.