Era: Unknown Dynasty, Iran.
Date: 1517-1518 AD.
Material and Technique: ink and pigments on laid paper.
Kept in Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Sources: [1],[2].
اسکندر در حال تماشای دختران عریان در دریای چین - خمسه نظامی - موزه هنر والترز، آمریکا
This is an illuminated and illustrated Khamsah (quintet) by Niẓāmī Ganjavī (d. 605 AH / 1209 CE), copied by Muḥammad Mūsá al-Mudhahhib ('the Limner') in Safavid Iran in 924 AH / 1518 CE. The manuscript opens with a double-page illustration, which is followed by a double-page illumination. In total, there are six Arabic colophons, one at the end of each of the first four poems and two for the two parts of the final poem (Kitāb-i Sharafnāmah-i Iskandarī and Kitāb-i Iqbālnāmah). The dates of these colophons indicate that the various poems were not executed consecutively. The writing of the text extended over a period of approximately three months, 6 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 923 AH / 1517 CE to 7 Rabīʿ I 924 AH / 1518 CE. The text is written in black nastaʿlīq script with blue subject/section headings. In addition to illuminated title pieces and headpieces, there are twenty-six illustrations. The binding is not original to the manuscript.