Perspectives on Persian Painting
Illustrations to Amir Khusrau's Khamsah
By Dr Barbara Brend
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- ISBN: 978-0-7007-1467-4
- Binding: Hardback
- Published by: Routledge
- Publication Date: 14th November 2002
- Pages: 368
- Illustrations: 234 colour plates and 114 b+w photos
About the Book
This is a detailed study of the illustrations to Amir Khusrau's
Khamsah, in which twenty discourses are followed by a brief parable, and four romances. Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) lived the greater part of adventurous life in Delhi; he composed in Persian, and also in Hindi. From the point of view of manuscript illustration, his most important work is his
Khamsah (Quintet'). Khusrau's position as a link between cultures of Persia and India means that the early illustrated copies of the Khamsah have a particular interest. The first extant exemplar is from the Persian area in the late 14th century, but a case can be made that work was probably illustrated earlier in India.
Reviews
'So little is known about the painters apart from their names that their work must speak for them. To have as knowledgeable an interpreter as Barbara Brend to follow a specific work by analysing content and context is both a rare pleasure and a worthy compliment to the artists themselves.' - Social Anthropology
Table of Contents
Verses Preface Introduction 1. The Narratives of the
Khamsah in summary 2. Western Iran prior to the death of Shah Rukh 3. Sultanate India 4. Turkman styles 5. Ottoman Turkey 6. Herat and sub-Herat styles 7. The Great Mughal Period Conclusion Appendix A: Manuscript Cycles Appendix B: Subject List Bibliography List of Plates Index
